Full Text of HR0397 97th General Assembly
HR0397 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson is considered a music legend and an | 3 | | American icon whose music and advocacy has entertained and | 4 | | inspired Illinoisans for five decades; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson started his musical education at age | 6 | | six by studying mail-order music guides given to him by his | 7 | | grandparents; he wrote his first song at seven and played in a | 8 | | local Texas band two years later; Willie later joined his | 9 | | brother-in-law's band as its frontman; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington | 11 | | where he recorded Leon Payne's " Lumberjack "; the song was | 12 | | plugged on the air, resulting in sales of 3,000; after the sale | 13 | | of " Family Bible ," which became a hit for Claude Gray in 1960, | 14 | | Nelson moved to Nashville to try his luck in the country music | 15 | | industry; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson's music demos were initially met | 17 | | with rejection by recording companies, but he tirelessly | 18 | | persevered; during this time, he wrote songs performed by other | 19 | | musicians, including " Crazy ," which became a Top Ten pop | 20 | | crossover smash, and " Funny How Time Slips Away ," which became | 21 | | a Top 40 country hit; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson grew frustrated with the Nashville | 2 | | music industry and retired to Austin, Texas; there, Nelson | 3 | | realized that country music was popular with young rock fans as | 4 | | well as the traditional country audience; he began performing | 5 | | again, shedding the Nashville sound for a rock-and-roll | 6 | | influenced outlaw country style; 1973's Shotgun Willie | 7 | | evidenced Nelson's new musical style that defied the forms of | 8 | | the Nashville music industry; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson gained complete creative control | 10 | | over his music when he signed with Columbia Records in 1975; | 11 | | " The Red Headed Stranger ," his first album for Columbia, became | 12 | | a huge hit; for the next five years, Nelson consistently | 13 | | appeared on both the country and pop charts; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson's most successful year was 1978, | 15 | | when he charted his first duet album with Waylon Jennings; this | 16 | | collaboration spawned the popular song " Mammas Don't Let Your | 17 | | Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys "; that same year, Nelson also | 18 | | released " Stardust ," an album spanning jazz, pop, country, and | 19 | | folk styles and which spent almost ten years in the country | 20 | | charts; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson continued to produce hits, | 22 | | including a cover of Elvis Presley's " Always on My Mind ," which | 23 | | was a cross-over smash; " Always on My Mind ," the album, |
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| 1 | | achieved quadruple-platinum status; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson goes beyond traditional country to | 3 | | blend together a diversity of styles, including pop, swing, | 4 | | jazz, honky tonk, rock & roll, folk, and the blues, into a | 5 | | distinctive musical hybrid; most recently, Nelson joined with | 6 | | jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and singer-songwriter Norah | 7 | | Jones to pay musical tribute to the legendary Ray Charles with | 8 | | the album " Here We Go Again "; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson has won major recognition for his | 10 | | music, including 10 Grammys, 7 American Music Awards, and 9 | 11 | | Country Music Awards; he was inducted into the Country Music | 12 | | Hall of Fame in 1993 and, on June 23, 2010, the Library of | 13 | | Congress's National Recording Registry; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson branched out into film with | 15 | | appearances in such movies as " The Electric Horseman " and | 16 | | " Honeysuckle Rose "; for the latter movie's soundtrack, Nelson | 17 | | wrote and performed what would become one of his signature | 18 | | songs, " On the Road Again "; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson has been involved in countless | 20 | | humanitarian causes, including raising funds for the victims of | 21 | | natural disasters and disease and working towards peace among | 22 | | all peoples and nations; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson worked with the State of Illinois | 2 | | and performers John Mellencamp and Neil Young to organize the | 3 | | first Farm Aid concert to increase awareness about the loss of | 4 | | family farms and raise funds to keep farm families on their | 5 | | land; the first Farm Aid concert was held on September 22, 1985 | 6 | | at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois | 7 | | in Champaign; during its existence, Farm Aid has raised more | 8 | | than $37 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm | 9 | | system of agriculture; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Willie Nelson was a regular performer at the | 11 | | Illinois State Fair, most recently in 2001; fairgoers would | 12 | | famously enjoy "Chili with Willie" as stipulated by Nelson in | 13 | | his State fair contract; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, On June 11, 2011, Willie Nelson is once again on | 15 | | the minds of Illinoisans as he performs at the World Shooting | 16 | | and Recreational Complex in Sparta as part of his Country | 17 | | Throwdown tour; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 | | we designate June 11, 2011 as "Willie Nelson Day" in the State | 21 | | of Illinois; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to Willie Nelson as a symbol of our respect and | 3 | | esteem.
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