A country music star revealed one scary fight Willie Nelson went through to succeed

Country music legend Willie Nelson has been at the top of the business for decades.

But his climb to the top was filled with obstacles.

And a country music legend revealed one scary fight Willie Nelson went through to succeed.

Nashville wasn’t ready for Willie Nelson’s sound

Sturgill Simpson is one of the few modern artists that play authentic country music. 

He’s drawn comparisons to outlaw country artists for a style that doesn’t sound like the pop country coming out of Nashville.

Country music legend Willie Nelson was one of the pioneers of outlaw country in the 1970s with artists like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.

Simpson talked about going against the grain in Nashville during an interview with Qobuz.

He mentioned Willie Nelson as someone who struggled against the major labels in Nashville.

“Willie is a great example,” Simpson said. “He was in Nashville for a long time, and they just didn’t know what to do with him. They didn’t understand the esoterics of art that he had inside of him. And his career didn’t even start until he retired.”

Nelson spent the 1960s in Nashville but never found widespread success and struggled during his time there.

He moved back to his native Texas in late 1970.

Nelson was frustrated with his record label and lack of success so he decided to retire from music.

Willie Nelson’s career took off later in life

“He moved back to Austin in his forties and then (said), ‘It doesn’t matter what I do now, I’m retired. I’ve got publishing on these classics.’ So he started writing all of these heady, country concept records and they got canceled,” Simpson explained.

Nelson changed his sound with his acclaimed 1973 album, Shotgun Willie, after being exposed to the burgeoning music scene in Austin, Texas.

The album got good reviews but sales for it weren’t great off the bat.

“Or not canceled, but those three classic records we all love so much now go him dropped from Atlantic Records,” Simpson explained. “You know? Nobody bought him. And it wasn’t until years later that people caught up to what he was doing.”

Nelson slowly became a star during the 1970s after he changed his sound and built a following.

Columbia – the label he was with at the time – thought his 1975 album, Red Headed Stranger, was a demo tape when they heard it for the first time.

He published that album without more production and it went on to become one the best-selling and most critically acclaimed of his career.

Simpson said that he looked up to Nelson because he stuck with his sound and success followed.

“You’ve got to… it’s not about charts or sales,” Simpson explained. “You can never approach this endeavor as, ‘Is this going to make me successful? And how do I stay successful? And if I do a duet with these people in 8 million different streams of music to gain relevance and visibility, (will that help?)’ It’s just never been something I was interested in, because of the guys you’re talking about (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard).”

Willie Nelson and Sturgill Simpson found success by doing it their way and not trying to follow the Nashville formula.

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