Willie Nelson's sister and bandmate, Bobbie Nelson, died Thursday at 91.
Although Bobbie and Willie shared a strong bond, she was known as much more than just being the country music legend's sister — she was also a talented pianist, singer, and member of the band Willie Nelson and Family.
Willie fondly boasted about it in 2007 during an interview with the Austin American-Statesman in 2007.
"There’s just no way to explain how lucky I am to have a good musician in the family," he said, according to Variety. "Whenever I’ve needed a piano player, I’ve had Sister Bobbie right there … Whenever our band plays, Sister Bobbie is the best musician on the stage.”
As teens, the siblings joined Bud Fletcher, who Bobbie went on to marry. However, Fletcher later died in a car accident, leaving Bobbie to raise three sons as a single mother.
She gave up music and moved to Fort Worth to attend secretarial courses and eventually landed a job working for the Hammond Organ Company library, according to Fox News. Bobbie also performed around Austin and Nashville as a pianist but it was in the early '70s that she became fully immersed in music again — when Willie signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and invited her to join the band.
The two performed alongside one another on stage as well as in the studio, playing professionally together for five years and teaming up at home for another eight. They played their last show on Oct. 9 at the Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Texas, Variety reported.
"My little sister was always on the piano doing great music," Willie previously said of his sister, who was two years older, according to the outlet. "I would sit there on the piano stool beside her and try to figure out what the hell she was doing. … Sister Bobbie is 10 times a better musician than I am."
In a statement released Thursday, Bobbie's family noted that her "elegance, grace, beauty, and talent made this world a better place."
"She was the first member of Willie’s band, as his pianist and singer," the statement read. "Our hearts are broken, and she will be deeply missed. But we are so lucky to have had her in our lives. Please keep her family in your thoughts and give them the privacy they need at this time."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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