Presidents and Celebrities: Jimmy Carter and Willie Nelson
During the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, first lady Rosalynn Carter arranged for a series of performances by famous musical artists in the White House and on the south lawn. These included such famous names as John Lennon, Dolly Parton, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Vladimir Horowitz, Leonard Bernstein, Beverly Sills, and famed country singer Willie Nelson. Nelson and Carter would become fast friends, notwithstanding the country singer's advocating for the legalization of marijuana at a time when the substance was looked up with greater scorn than it is today.
Willie Nelson was born on April 29, 1933 during the great depression in Abbott, Texas. He went on to become one of the most recognized artists in country music. Along with Waylon Jennings, he was one of the main figures of a genre of country music known as outlaw country, one that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville country music establishment. Nelson became very involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.
Nelson, who was raised by his grandparents, wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. Nelson attended Baylor University for two years, but abandoned his studies because of the commercial success he was achieving in music. He worked as a disc jockey at radio stations in Texas and in the Pacific Northwest, while working as a singer and songwriter. He wrote many country classics including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", and "Crazy". In 1960 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and joined Ray Price's band as a bassist. In 1962, he recorded his first album, and in 1964 he joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. Nelson grew weary of the corporate Nashville music scene, and in 1972 he moved to Austin, Texas, where he performed at the Armadillo World Headquarters. In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, achieving commercial success with his albums Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, along with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, he recorded hit albums such as Honeysuckle Rose and released hit songs like "On the Road Again" and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before." Nelsom joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. In 1985, he helped organize the first Farm Aid concert to benefit American farmers; the concerts have been held annually ever since and Nelson has been a fixture, appearing at every one.
During Carter's presidency, Nelson was a frequent guest at the White House. In his White House Diary, Carter recorded how, on May 15, 1979, Nelson and fellow country singer Charlie Pride presented the President with the Country Music Association Award for his interest and support of country music. On September 13, 1980, Nelson performed a concert on the south lawn of the White House. The concert of First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Nelson in a duet of Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother". On the day before the concert, Carter noted in his diary:
Willie Nelson, [Nelson's wife] Connie, and their two daughters are staying with us. We jogged three or four miles and then went swimming. I like them very much. They are at ease with is and vice versa. He's having a fund-raising concert tomorrow night.
It was revealed in the documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President that on this visit, Nelson and Carter's son Chip smoked some marijuana on the roof of the White House. Nelson originally had written in his autobiography that he was joined by a “servant” in the White House when he smoked the joint on the roof. But Jimmy Carter revealed in the documentary that Nelson was covering up for his son James Earl “Chip” Carter. According to the Los Angeles Times, Chip recalled when he went to the roof with Nelson on Sept. 13, 1980, “In the break I said, 'Let’s go upstairs.’ We just kept going up till we got to the roof, where we leaned against the flagpole at the top of the place and lit one up.” Prior to this admission, there had been considerable speculation about who it was that Nelson had smoked with, ranging from various White House staff members to the president himself.
Nelson discussed more details about the joint in an interview with Patrick Doyle of Rolling Stone magazine, calling the joint "a fat Austin Torpedo." The incident occurred after Nelson had finished singing in the Rose Garden. Nelson had gone to sleep with his wife, Connie, in the Lincoln Bedroom, when Chip Carter knocked on his door. Nelson said, “Chip Carter took me down into the bottom of the White House, where the bowling alley is,” and the two of them went up to the roof and smoked a joint. Nelson recalled how Chip explained to him about the surrounding view, pointing out the Washington Monument and the lights on Pennsylvania Avenue. “It’s really pretty nice up there,” Nelson said.
In the film, Nelson recalled another occasion when he visited the White House on crutches:
"I had just been to Jamaica and got busted (for marijuana possession) down there," Nelson says. "I was so excited to get out of jail I jumped off the porch and sprung my ankle, and then the next day I had to go see the president of the United States. It was really kind of funny. We laughed about it a lot."
Nelson performed at fundraisers for Carter's unsuccessful re-election bid in 1980. Five years later, after Carter's presidency had ended, Nelson did a favor for his friend the former President by attending a celebration for the centennial of Carter's home town of Plains, Georgia held from May 17 to 19 of 1985. Carter had recorded a radio announcement informing people that Nelson would be holding a concert at the softball field in Plains. When Carter was asked to describe Nelson by a reporter for the Americus Times-Recorder, he called the singer "one of America's true heroes. He has a sure and certain style, which has never needed many radical changes because his music is based on integrity. [Nelson is] A longtime personal friend." At the concert the two performed "On the Road Again" together.
In the documentary, Nelson opined that his friendship with Carter has lasted so long because "Jimmy and I basically come from the same spot."
Willie Nelson was born on April 29, 1933 during the great depression in Abbott, Texas. He went on to become one of the most recognized artists in country music. Along with Waylon Jennings, he was one of the main figures of a genre of country music known as outlaw country, one that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville country music establishment. Nelson became very involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.
Nelson, who was raised by his grandparents, wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. Nelson attended Baylor University for two years, but abandoned his studies because of the commercial success he was achieving in music. He worked as a disc jockey at radio stations in Texas and in the Pacific Northwest, while working as a singer and songwriter. He wrote many country classics including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", and "Crazy". In 1960 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and joined Ray Price's band as a bassist. In 1962, he recorded his first album, and in 1964 he joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. Nelson grew weary of the corporate Nashville music scene, and in 1972 he moved to Austin, Texas, where he performed at the Armadillo World Headquarters. In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, achieving commercial success with his albums Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, along with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, he recorded hit albums such as Honeysuckle Rose and released hit songs like "On the Road Again" and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before." Nelsom joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. In 1985, he helped organize the first Farm Aid concert to benefit American farmers; the concerts have been held annually ever since and Nelson has been a fixture, appearing at every one.
During Carter's presidency, Nelson was a frequent guest at the White House. In his White House Diary, Carter recorded how, on May 15, 1979, Nelson and fellow country singer Charlie Pride presented the President with the Country Music Association Award for his interest and support of country music. On September 13, 1980, Nelson performed a concert on the south lawn of the White House. The concert of First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Nelson in a duet of Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother". On the day before the concert, Carter noted in his diary:
Willie Nelson, [Nelson's wife] Connie, and their two daughters are staying with us. We jogged three or four miles and then went swimming. I like them very much. They are at ease with is and vice versa. He's having a fund-raising concert tomorrow night.
It was revealed in the documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President that on this visit, Nelson and Carter's son Chip smoked some marijuana on the roof of the White House. Nelson originally had written in his autobiography that he was joined by a “servant” in the White House when he smoked the joint on the roof. But Jimmy Carter revealed in the documentary that Nelson was covering up for his son James Earl “Chip” Carter. According to the Los Angeles Times, Chip recalled when he went to the roof with Nelson on Sept. 13, 1980, “In the break I said, 'Let’s go upstairs.’ We just kept going up till we got to the roof, where we leaned against the flagpole at the top of the place and lit one up.” Prior to this admission, there had been considerable speculation about who it was that Nelson had smoked with, ranging from various White House staff members to the president himself.
Nelson discussed more details about the joint in an interview with Patrick Doyle of Rolling Stone magazine, calling the joint "a fat Austin Torpedo." The incident occurred after Nelson had finished singing in the Rose Garden. Nelson had gone to sleep with his wife, Connie, in the Lincoln Bedroom, when Chip Carter knocked on his door. Nelson said, “Chip Carter took me down into the bottom of the White House, where the bowling alley is,” and the two of them went up to the roof and smoked a joint. Nelson recalled how Chip explained to him about the surrounding view, pointing out the Washington Monument and the lights on Pennsylvania Avenue. “It’s really pretty nice up there,” Nelson said.
In the film, Nelson recalled another occasion when he visited the White House on crutches:
"I had just been to Jamaica and got busted (for marijuana possession) down there," Nelson says. "I was so excited to get out of jail I jumped off the porch and sprung my ankle, and then the next day I had to go see the president of the United States. It was really kind of funny. We laughed about it a lot."
Nelson performed at fundraisers for Carter's unsuccessful re-election bid in 1980. Five years later, after Carter's presidency had ended, Nelson did a favor for his friend the former President by attending a celebration for the centennial of Carter's home town of Plains, Georgia held from May 17 to 19 of 1985. Carter had recorded a radio announcement informing people that Nelson would be holding a concert at the softball field in Plains. When Carter was asked to describe Nelson by a reporter for the Americus Times-Recorder, he called the singer "one of America's true heroes. He has a sure and certain style, which has never needed many radical changes because his music is based on integrity. [Nelson is] A longtime personal friend." At the concert the two performed "On the Road Again" together.
In the documentary, Nelson opined that his friendship with Carter has lasted so long because "Jimmy and I basically come from the same spot."