Bobbie Lee Nelson — the American pianist and singer who performed with younger brother Willie Nelson and his band, the Family — has died. The Nelson family confirmed her passing in an announcement today, though a cause of death was not revealed. She was 91.
"Bobbie Nelson passed away this morning, peacefully and surrounded by family," the Nelson family shared in a statement. "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. 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."
In tribute to the late artist, Amanda Shires shared, "Bobbie Nelson was one of the first women musicians that I ever saw on stage. She was the first example I had of a woman playing music while also having a family. I'm honoured to have known her."
In a respective tribute, Margo Price wrote, "Nobody played piano like Bobbie Nelson and nobody ever will. She was the epitome of class, grace and style and I'm sure gonna miss seeing her on stage next to [Willie]."
Born in Abbott, TX, in 1931, Bobbie Nelson was raised alongside Willie by their paternal grandparents, William and Nancy, who imparted their love of music to their grandchildren. She would recall to the Austin Chronicle in 2008, "My grandmother was a wonderful teacher. She had come from a background where her father was a singing instructor in Arkansas. She and my grandfather studied from a mail-order course, and we always remember them sitting at the table with a lamplight studying music they got in the mail. I was about five when I started learning to play, because my grandfather insisted that my grandmother start teaching me [piano] on the pump organ we had in the house."
Noting her interest in piano and voice, Bobbie's grandfather purchased a piano from the local grocer for $35 when she was six. She recalled to the Chronicle how upon her grandfather's passing three years later, her grandmother sold livestock to pay off remaining debt on the instrument.
"I must have been about 8 or 9 whenever we first started playing together," Bobbie shared of her brother. "My grandmother stood at the treble end of the piano and sat Willie at the bass end, and she showed him three different chords and how to do the other parts. She would sing while Willie and I played, so we really started learning to play together."
In 1973, Bobbie received a call from brother Willie, who was at work on new material in a New York studio. "Willie had signed to Atlantic Records, and he was going to do a gospel record and wanted me to help him," she recalled to the Chronicle. "I had never been on an airplane or even been any farther than Nashville, but I went to New York, and we recorded [1976] album The Troublemaker], the first time I recorded with him. Then we did the Shotgun Willie album while we were there, and it all went so well, and we had such a good time that Willie said, 'I sure have missed playing with you; let's just don't stop.'"
Bobbie's playing also appears on '70s Nelson records including Shotgun Willie, Red Headed Stranger, To Lefty from Willie and Stardust. She would make her solo debut in 2008 with Audiobiography.
In recent years, Bobbie and Willie co-authored a pair of books: 2020 memoir Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band, and 2021 children's book Sister, Brother, Family: An American Childhood in Music.
"Bobbie Nelson passed away this morning, peacefully and surrounded by family," the Nelson family shared in a statement. "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. 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."
In tribute to the late artist, Amanda Shires shared, "Bobbie Nelson was one of the first women musicians that I ever saw on stage. She was the first example I had of a woman playing music while also having a family. I'm honoured to have known her."
In a respective tribute, Margo Price wrote, "Nobody played piano like Bobbie Nelson and nobody ever will. She was the epitome of class, grace and style and I'm sure gonna miss seeing her on stage next to [Willie]."
Born in Abbott, TX, in 1931, Bobbie Nelson was raised alongside Willie by their paternal grandparents, William and Nancy, who imparted their love of music to their grandchildren. She would recall to the Austin Chronicle in 2008, "My grandmother was a wonderful teacher. She had come from a background where her father was a singing instructor in Arkansas. She and my grandfather studied from a mail-order course, and we always remember them sitting at the table with a lamplight studying music they got in the mail. I was about five when I started learning to play, because my grandfather insisted that my grandmother start teaching me [piano] on the pump organ we had in the house."
Noting her interest in piano and voice, Bobbie's grandfather purchased a piano from the local grocer for $35 when she was six. She recalled to the Chronicle how upon her grandfather's passing three years later, her grandmother sold livestock to pay off remaining debt on the instrument.
"I must have been about 8 or 9 whenever we first started playing together," Bobbie shared of her brother. "My grandmother stood at the treble end of the piano and sat Willie at the bass end, and she showed him three different chords and how to do the other parts. She would sing while Willie and I played, so we really started learning to play together."
In 1973, Bobbie received a call from brother Willie, who was at work on new material in a New York studio. "Willie had signed to Atlantic Records, and he was going to do a gospel record and wanted me to help him," she recalled to the Chronicle. "I had never been on an airplane or even been any farther than Nashville, but I went to New York, and we recorded [1976] album The Troublemaker], the first time I recorded with him. Then we did the Shotgun Willie album while we were there, and it all went so well, and we had such a good time that Willie said, 'I sure have missed playing with you; let's just don't stop.'"
Bobbie's playing also appears on '70s Nelson records including Shotgun Willie, Red Headed Stranger, To Lefty from Willie and Stardust. She would make her solo debut in 2008 with Audiobiography.
In recent years, Bobbie and Willie co-authored a pair of books: 2020 memoir Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band, and 2021 children's book Sister, Brother, Family: An American Childhood in Music.