Our Hats Off to Mr. Willie Nelson, a True Great

By ALYSIA GRAY PAINTER

Updated 2:00 PM PDT, Thu, Jan 22, 2009

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Always on our minds? Not always, but this legendary singer is very frequently, and definitely every time we think about beautiful, Texas-twangy ballads about love and the road and making it all work. Willie Nelson, who celebrated his 75th last year, is quite an artist, lending his songwriting talents to other legendary singers, his acting chops to the movies, his wise political takes to the public discourse, and his love of the earth to his efforts toward finding cleaner fuel.

He's playing at The Canyon Club on Thursday, January 22. In honor of having Mr. Nelson swing through Southern California, we wanted to thank him for...

1. Writing "Crazy" -- yep, the "Crazy" made famous by Patsy Cline -- which is a gorgeous, slow, painful song that makes everyone sad, but a happy-sad.

2. His support of "Bio-Willie" fuel for big trucks, a planet-nice way to gas up the tank. It's made of vegetable oils, and Willie doesn't mind going on TV to talk it up.

3. Setting his own trends with the braids and colorful headscarf he became famous for, especially back around the "Honeysuckle Rose" era. So Willie. So outlaw. Love it.

4. There's a Ben & Jerry flavor named after him (Country Peach Cobbler). Okay, this is something that Ben & Jerry's created, but still, if you've had a flavor named after you, you've reached a pinnacle in this world.

5. The LiveWillie.com wristbands, an up-to-the-moment, nice-to-the-fans way to hear Willie's recent shows.

Thank you Willie. Strum on, good man...

Willie Nelson at The Canyon Club
Thursday, January 22, 8:30PM
28912 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills
818-879-5016