At 91 years young, Willie Nelson is a country music legend who loves performing for fans — even when he’s not in the best of health.
Fans were concerned recently because Willie was forced to cancel some tour dates due to serious health issues. But nothing stopped Willie over the Independence Day weekend. He made it on stage to celebrate one of the most significant holidays in America.
Country Living reported on how Willie’s fans breathed “a sigh of relief” when he performed with his son, Lukas, “after [a] brief illness.” Willie wasn’t feeling very well last month, and on June 21st, his team released a statement on Instagram that worried fans.
Willie’s team announced on social media that his doctors had ordered him “to rest for the next four days.” They also claimed that Willie was “expected to make a quick recovery.” Willie’s team updated fans again one week later.
On June 28th, Willie’s team reported that he had “been cleared by his doctors to go on the road again,” a play on words from one of Willie’s most beloved hit songs, “On the Road Again.” That may have been what Willie’s doctors told his team, but the real truth is Willie “missed dates through July 2,” according to the article in Country Living.
Then, on Independence Day 2024, Willie shocked his fans in the best way possible. As Country Living noted, Willie “made his return to the stage” on July 4th. The location was super special because it was Willie’s annual “4th of July Picnic in Camden, New Jersey.”
Willie Is Back
Willie has definitely kept up with modern technology. A video was posted on his “official Instagram account” showing Willie coming out on stage with Lukas on Independence Day. Willie’s post had the humorous caption, “He’s bbaaacccckkkkk.”
Willie’s delighted fans filled his social media with supportive comments. Some of them even had inside knowledge from the 4th of July show.
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One fan confessed, “It sure as hell takes a lot these days,” but seeing Willie headlining his picnic in New Jersey “did it.” They wrote, “I got tears in my eyes watching Willie walk on stage alongside Lukas. Beautiful to see.”
Other fans revealed that it did their “hearts good” to see Willie, a “true American legend!” Someone added, “We must protect Willie at all costs!” On July 1st, Southern Living reported that Willie’s “next scheduled tour stop” was supposed to be July 2nd in Mansfield, Massachusetts, but he missed that show.
Willie Has Dealt With Health Issues for Decades
It’s shocking to learn that Willie has dealt with many scary medical emergencies in his life. Hello Magazine reported on Willie’s health scares, going back to 1981.
Willie was vacationing in Hawaii in the 1980s when he experienced trouble in paradise. He ended up in Maui Memorial Hospital with a collapsed lung.
Willie’s “scheduled concerts were canceled.” Hello reported that Willie “temporarily stopped smoking cigarettes” after his serious lung injury. Shockingly, Willie had previously smoked “between two and three” packs of cigarettes “per day” before he stopped smoking for good.
In 2012, Willie was performing a fundraising concert “near Denver” when he suffered a terrifying shortness of breath. It turned out that Willie had emphysema. It was hard for him to get enough oxygen in his body due to “high altitude” levels in Colorado.
May 2022 was another frightening time for Willie health-wise because he contracted COVID-19. Hello reported that he was “seriously affected” by it.
Willie went through many COVID treatments, including Paxlovid, steroids, and “monoclonal antibodies” to try and heal him. The good news is that it worked, and Willie returned on tour in September 2022.
Willie Has No Plans to Retire
Southern Living also reported in April 2023 that Willie had “no plans” to retire “for good” as he was gearing up to celebrate his 90th birthday. Willie’s birthday is April 29th, and his 90th birthday was a celebrity-studded, two-day party concert at the world-famous Hollywood Bowl. The concert featured performances by Chris Stapleton, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves, and special guest Snoop Dog!
Willie also did an interview with AARP last year, and he made some pretty revealing confessions. AARP described him as “an activist, author, and actor,” but Willie is a music superstar first and foremost.
He released his debut single in 1957. AARP reported that Willie has recorded and released a stunning 150 albums, although Willie admitted he couldn’t “name them all.”
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AARP asked Willie why he decided to work on his 90th birthday instead of spending the day relaxing at his home base, a ranch in Spicewood, Texas. Willie’s answer will amaze you.
He revealed, “Working is really good for me, no matter what kind of show it is.” Willie looked forward to “two days” at the Hollywood Bowl with many of his “good friends… saying hello and singing with me.” Willie called that “a lot of fun.”
When asked how he felt about “turning 90,” Willie said he’d talked about it with his friend, the late Norman Lear, after Norman turned 100.
Willie asked Norman, “Am I right?” Because Willie told other people that age is “just a number.” Norman agreed, “Yeah, it’s just a number.”
Willie Believes that Singing Is Good for His Voice
But AARP told Willie that aging does take “a toll on vocal cords.” They wanted to know how Willie keeps his “voice in shape?”
Willie said singing was “good” for his voice and didn’t “do anything to harm it much anymore.” Willie added, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”
AARP also wanted Willie to spill the tea on his martial arts training. As it turns out, Willie’s fascination with “Bruce Lee, judo, and jujitsu” began when he was a kid growing up in “Abbott, Texas.”
Willie claimed that kids like him didn’t have much growing up “except comic books.” He was always “fighting one thing or another” when there was nothing else to do.
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Shockingly, Willie alleged he would “go out on Sundays and fight bumblebees and come home with my eyes swollen shut.” Willie said he always loved telling everyone “how much fun” that was!
Willie is also famous for supporting the use of cannabis, THC, and CBD products. He told AARP that he believes “there’s a positive use for it.” Since Willie began having serious breathing problems, he confessed to AARP that “any kind of smoke, I don’t think, is good for your lungs.”
Although Willie did confess that he still does a “couple” of “edibles,” which is a form of cannabis that has been legalized in many US states, he thinks these products have “a positive effect” on him. He even described himself as a “redheaded [kid] with a high temper” who gets calmed down “a little bit” when he uses edibles.
Willie’s Heart Always Returns to Texas
Willie is legendary for his songs, braids, and “battered Martin N-20 acoustic guitar,” which he has played since 1969 and famously nicknamed “Trigger.”
AARP asked Willie about the guitar. They wanted him to answer a shocking question. Was Willie thinking about leaving the guitar “to a museum” after he passed away, or did he want to “be buried” with Trigger?
Willie said, “Trigger has a life and a personality all his own,” and “whenever” he passes away, he was going to let “somebody else decide what Trigger does.” The most important thing to Willie was for Trigger to go “somewhere where he’s appreciated.”
AARP is an association for “retired people.” So, they asked Willie if he’s ever “considered retiring from the road?”
Willie’s answer makes you realize how much he loves performing and why he wanted to be on stage at his July 4th picnic. He joked that he retires “after every tour,” but he always realizes that he’s “ready to go back [out] again.” Willie confessed that he likes traveling around on his bus and has “everything” he’ll ever need “on the bus.”
Willie even admitted that he never has “to go into a hotel room anywhere.” He added, “It’s not that bad.” But when AARP asked Willie to describe “a good day off,” his heart returned to Texas.
Willie revealed that he lives “right outside of Austin, on top of a hill.” A good day off is spent with his horses riding around “great scenery” and driving around his ranch in an “old truck.”
Willie told AARP, “There are other great places in the world, but Texas is my place.”
