Willie Nelson

At Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, a Nashville bar near the Grand Ole Opry, Willie Nelson played Patsy Cline's husband a demo of 'Crazy'. She chose to record it, and while he toured as bassist in Ray Price's band, his songs became hits for Roy Orbison and Billy Walker too.

Those tunes grew from a wide-open ear. Raised by grandparents who taught singing, he performed gospel in church and worked Texas honky-tonks from 13, soaking up Hank Williams and Bob Wills alongside Django Reinhardt, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong.

Growing weary of the industry's corporate side, he moved to Austin in 1972, where a hippie scene revived him. There his sound loosened into a blend laced with folk and jazz, making him a leading outlaw country figure on Shotgun Willie and Red Headed Stranger. Restless since, he has wandered into reggae and blues.