Shirley Collie Nelson (born Shirley Angelina Simpson, March 16, 1931 – January 27, 2010) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

singer, yodeler, guitarist and songwriter. From 1963 to 1971, she was the second wife of country star

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

Life and career

Born in

Chillicothe, Missouri Chillicothe is a city in the state of Missouri and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town", and was named after their ''Chillico ...

, to Alice (née Davis) and Henry Simpson, she sang at local war bond rallies during World War II as a child, and made a guest appearance on KFEQ-AM in St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1945, at age 14, Simpson replaced "Sue" on the weekday morning ''Millie and Sue'' show on KMBC-AM in Kansas City, and the duo also appeared on the station's ''Brush Creek Follies'' barn dance show. She bought her Little Martin guitar from the previous Sue, an instrument she would use for the rest of her career. Her first marriage, at 15, lasted until she was 19. In 1950, Simpson moved to Texas to play with

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

Johnnie Lee Wills Johnnie Lee Wills (September 2, 1912 – October 25, 1984) was an American Western swing fiddler popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Wills was born in Jewett, Texas, United States, and was the