William Hugh "Willie" Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and singer-songwriter, originally from Abbott, Texas. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, though he had already become famous as a 1960s songwriter.

Willie Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon. His distinctive music sometimes takes a backseat to his public image, that of a marijuana smoking old hippie troubadour. His image is marked by his red hair, often worn in two braids and partially concealed under a bandana. He has been featured in recent advertisements for a variety of products and companies, including The Gap.

During the controversial 2003 Texas Congressional Redistricting, Nelson made the news by sending a case of whiskey to the Democrats of the Texas Legislature in self-imposed exile in Ardmore, Oklahoma. An attached note read "Stand your ground." In 2005 a Democratic representative in Texas' legislature attempted to name part of a highway after Nelson, but after opposition Willie did not want his name associated with the controversial toll road. And when some Republican lawmakers claimed Nelson did not warrant mention since he had nothing to do with the creation of the highway, the representative dropped his plan.

Willie Nelson performed a duet on "Beer for my Horses" with Toby Keith on Keith's Unleashed album released in 2002. This song was released as a single in 2003 and Nelson shot a video with Keith in 2003. It won an award for "Best Video" at the Academy of Country Music Awards held on May 26, 2004.

No stranger to controversy, he released the Tex-Mex-style "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other", a song about gay cowboys, as a digital single through the iTunes Music Store on Valentine's Day 2006. He deadpans his way through the song, with such phrases as "What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?" and "Inside every cowboy there's a lady who'd love to slip out." The song was written and first recorded more than twenty years before by musicologist/songwriter Ned Sublette, and had also been covered, prior to Nelson's version, by queercore band Pansy Division.

In 2002, Nelson signed a deal to become the official spokesperson to the Texas Roadhouse, a fast-growing chain of steakhouses in the U.S. Since then, Nelson has heavily promoted the chain (including a special on Food Network). Meanwhile the Texas Roadhouse itself installed "Willie's Corner" at several locations, which are a section dedicated to Nelson and decked out with memorabilia.