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Meet Willie Nelson’s Big, Blended Musical Family
Country star Willie Nelson is the head of a big, blended family.
He has five daughters – Lana, 72, Susie, 69, Paula, 56, Amy, 52, and the late Renee Butts – and three sons – Lukas, 37, Micah, 35, and Billy (who passed away in 1991).
Lana, Susie, and Billy are the children of Willie and his first spouse, Martha Matthews. The couple was married from 1952 to 1962. He is the father of Paula and Amy through his or their mother, Connie Koepke, with whom he had been married for 17 years. In 1991, the “On the Road Again” singer tied the knot with Annie D’Angelo and has two sons with her, Lukas and Micah.
Aside from that, Willie also had an eighth daughter named Renee with his pal Mary Haney, though he only found out about it in 2012.
A number of Nelson’s kids have worked out music careers for themselves following their father’s path. Paula, Amy, Lukas, and Micah all have their musical careers, released the album The Willie Nelson Family in 2021 together, and have often been their dad’s tour companions.
Willie Nelson Says Making Music with His Kids Is What He Really Likes Most”
In 2012, Willie Nelson said to Texas Monthly, “Playing onstage with my kids, honestly, is the biggest thrill I can get at the moment. ”
During a 2017 Rolling Stone mini-movie, the legendary Texas artist explained in simple terms how naturally the family band happened: “It has been a family thing with me just making music with whoever was around. And to have your kids up there doing a great job with you, that’s as good as it gets.” That feeling of joy was clearly visible when Willie’s 90th birthday was commemorated in a film taken in April 2023 and released in December of the same year, as his sons Lukas and Micah came on stage to share messages through songs honoring their father’s artistic heritage.
Willie Nelson Reflects on Fatherhood and Family
Willie Nelson was asked what kind of a father he was and he said that people might think he wasn’t “a very good one” simply because he was mostly on the road while his children were growing up. He added, “as they live longer and have families, they’ll understand what it means and what it is all about.”
Annie D’Angelo, his wife, kind of disagreed with the opinion. “This is his point of view,” she said. “Ours and innocent of the way they grew up, this is a great example of what it means to have and do the things you came here for.” She continued, “When he was with us, he was with us.”
Today, Willie is in good terms with each of his children who regularly post photos and tag their father on social media. He told The Big Interview with Dan Rather in 2016, “I have a wonderful family. I have a lot of wonderful kids. They seem to be doing good. I am very proud of them. That is the best it can be.”
Here’s everything to know about Willie Nelson’s eight children.
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Renee Butts
Mary Haney, Willie Nelson’s friend, gave birth to Lynda Renee Barley (later Renee Butts) on Jan. 22, 1953, but it was not until 2012 that Willie knew that she was his daughter. He recalled in his autobiography Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die how he reconnected with Mary after many years and found out about Renee as well as the extended family comprising the granddaughter Noelle and great-granddaughter Jordyn. “My newly discovered family sure took some time to surface,” he wrote.
Renee got married to Joel Butts in 1976 and they made their home in the Houston vicinity where she was employed as a graphic designer. In 2016, on Father’s Day, she posted on Facebook a photo of herself with Willie and wrote, “This is also my dad and I love him so much … I know I’m a really lucky girl to have two of the finest men in this world be dads to me.” In August 2017, Renee passed away.
Lana Nelson Fowler, 72
Willie Nelson and his first wife, Martha Matthews, had their first child, Lana Nelson, on Nov. 11, 1953. Lana had two sons from her first marriage, and in June 1976, she married George Fowler with whom she had two children, Rachel and Bryan, as reported in Texas Monthly.
Lana has never been a musician, nevertheless, she has had the opportunity to work alongside her famous father. She designed the costumes for his 1986 film Red Headed Stranger, which was inspired by his 1975 album, and her son Bryan also had a cameo in the film. Lana was involved in the costume department for the 1993 TV special Willie Nelson: The Big Six-O and also made an appearance with her siblings and aunt in the docudrama The King of Luck and Lovey: King of the Roadies.
In 2015, for Father’s Day, Lana exclaimed her love through a post on Willie’s website, referring to him as “a sweet, mellow, loving man” and “an inspiration and a role model” whose hands guided her towards the most valuable lessons of life.
Susie Nelson, 69
Susie Nelson, the second born of Willie Nelson and Martha Matthews, came into the world on May 23, 1956.
Susie at the age of 27 got back to school to complete her high school education. After that, she spent quite some time playing music and sharing stories at Indigenous reservations in the U.S. and Canada (Willie is said to have Cherokee roots).
She wrote in 1987, a book called Heart Worn Memories: A Daughter’s Personal Biography of Willie Nelson, which gave an insight into her life as the daughter of Willie. The same year, the Orlando Sentinel disclosed that Susie had been through a divorce and a widowhood before tying the knot with the writer and editor, Bob Rosenbaum, in June.
Susie has also worked directly with her dad. She was the co-host of Susie’s Gospel Hour with Willie on his SiriusXM channel, Willie’s Roadhouse in 2012.
William “Billy” Hugh Nelson Jr.
On May 12, 1958, Willie Nelson and Martha Matthews’ first child William “Billy” Hugh Nelson Jr. came into the world.
One day during a tour with his father, Billy saw Janet Caldwell, a Nashville “radio promo girl.” The couple married, moved to Music City, and had a daughter, Raelyn — who later took on a career in music herself, as featured in Spin.
Death and Billy’s personal problems were the dark side of his story. It was during Christmas 1989 when his mother passed away, and he and Caldwell got divorced. Raelyn’s custody was awarded to Caldwell, and Billy went through alcohol treatment in 1990, at least according to PEOPLE.
Billy along with his dad were working on a gospel-centric album when Billy decided to take his life on the Christmas holiday in 1991. Reflecting on the loss, Willie confided a friend, “To this day, I’ve never come across anything that was as sickening as this.”
Remembering Billy Nelson Through Music and Family
Willie Nelson in 1994 put out a gospel album which he and Billy had made together, Peace in the Valley: The Gospel Truth Collection. Among the various tunes, “My Body’s Just a Suitcase for My Soul,” is the most touching one, which is a poignant duet between Willie and his late son. According to a producer, Bob MacDonald Jr., to the Sun-Sentinel, completing this album was “very tough for Willie,” as Willie “had doubts about coming out with this album at all. But now that the record is out, it seems to be helping him to come to grips with the tragedy.”
Billy’s daughter, Raelyn, has taken over the family’s musical tradition. She is a Nashville-based singer and musician and also the mother of three children — two sons and a daughter, as per the Gainesville Downtown. She mentioned that her grandfather has been the greatest support for her: “He told me that he was so proud of me and that my dad would have been really proud of me.”
Paula Carlene Nelson, 56
Paula Carlene Nelson is the first child of Willie Nelson and Connie Koepke. She was born on Oct. 27, 1969. In an episode of One by Willie, Paula said that she was named after Willie’s best friend, the now-deceased Paul English, and his wife Carlene. Paula’s second wedding was a double honor for her as both Willie and Paul walked her down the aisle.
When Paula was born, Willie was still with singer Shirley Collie, his second wife who he had married in 1963. It was in 1971 when Collie came to know about Willie having a child with a different woman after she saw Koepke’s hospital bill.
“I lied and said it wasn’t a big deal,” Willie said in his memoir Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band. He remembered that he had to say “Connie is my girlfriend and Paula is our daughter” to Collie. The couple divorced in 1971 and in the same year, Willie married Koepke who he met at one of his Houston shows.
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Paula Nelson’s Troubles as a Teen and Her Road to Recovery
In 1988, Paula’s parents got divorced and went to live with her mom in Austin, TX. She also enrolled at Westlake High School. It was a struggle at first.”
“I had a hard time going to Westlake. I was 16 years old and had been living in Colorado since grade school where nobody paid attention, but to be Willie Nelson’s daughter in Texas was a big deal,” she said to the Austin Chronicle in 2008. “By senior year, I was doing a lot of coke, basically I was able to get the hands on anything.”
Paula got into a rehab center in San Diego during her final year at school. She took her studies through correspondence and became the first Nelson to get a high school diploma.
Paula Nelson’s Musical Work and Partnership with Willie
Paula inherited her father’s talent and pursued her career in music.
In 2014, she was recording her fifth studio album, Under the Influence. She was named the Female Artist of the Year by the Texas Country Music Association in 2016. Additionally, she has collaborated with Willie a lot: she contributed to his album To All the Girls, where they sung “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” together, and he was the guitarist for her track “Primrose Path.”
“I couldn’t be more thankful. My dad is always texting me and saying things like ‘I hear you on the radio, great sound, you sound wonderful,’ “ she said to One by Willie. “And that’s such a great like father and daughter moment that you can’t put a price on.”
Amy Lee Nelson, 52
Willie Nelson and Connie Koepke’s second daughter Amy Lee Nelson was born on July 6, 1973.
Amy’s Hollywood career has ranged from directing a documentary, Lovey: King of the Roadies, to shooting a music video for Kinky Friedman’s “Resurrection”. She and Willie also appeared together in the 2012 documentary Saving America’s Horses: A Nation Betrayed.
Amy, like her dad, is a musician. She is one of the two members of the irreverent folk duo Folk Uke with Cathy Guthrie, the daughter of Arlo Guthrie. The band was formed in San Diego in 1998 and their song “S— Makes the Flowers Grow” was featured in Super Troopers 2.
Amy is an animal advocate and assists in running the family nonprofit Willie’s Kids, which saves horses from slaughter. In 2012, Willie had adopted 68 horses, many of which were saved with Amy’s help. “He’s always been for the underdog,” Amy said to the Summerville Journal Scene.
In 2021, Amy was awarded the Grassroots Leadership’s Protect Your People award for the videos she created with Willie advocating human rights, such as their cover of Guy Clark’s “Immigrant Eyes” and the web series Love on the Border.
Lukas Autry Nelson, 37
Lukas Autry Nelson came into this world on December 25, 1988, the first child of Willie Nelson and Annie D’Angelo.
The family moved back and forth between Texas and Hawaii during Lukas’s formative years. He was a student at the Montessori school that his mother ran near Austin before the family went to Maui when he was in junior high and high school, as per the Austin American-Statesman.
Being part of a deeply musical household, music was very much a part of his life from the start. He was already writing songs and playing guitar at an early age. At 11, he had penned a song which not only was included on his father’s album It Always Will Be but also made him a proto to be accomplished artist.
Lukas Nelson’s Music Career and Working with His Dad
According to NPR, Lukas went to Los Angeles in 2007 where he enrolled at Loyola Marymount University but decided to leave the following year to pursue music professionally. Within a short time, he was able to establish his band known as Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – a rock group from California that released its sixth album titled A Few Stars Apart in 2021. Apart from their own projects, the band also served as Neil Young’s road band for a number of years.
Willie and Lukas have been working together a lot. In fact, Willie was the one who penned “Peaceful Solution” and also joined the band for backing vocals on their debut album in 2010. Further, Lukas was featured on Willie’s album Heroes that came out in 2012. The two brothers Micah and Lukas are often seen going on tours with their dad, mixing their personal and professional lives through music onstage.
Lukas Nelson’s Grammy Win and Tribute to Willie
On the occasion of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday party, Lukas celebrated his father by singing “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” which was not only a tribute to Willie’s legendary career but also to his enormous impact on Lukas’ life.
Besides, Lukas himself has a pretty cool story to tell. He bagged a Grammy in 2020 for his contribution to A Star Is Born — the very night Willie was awarded his 10th Grammy. Lukas penned and co-produced a handful of songs in the movie, acted as one of the band members of Bradley Cooper’s character on-screen, and also was Cooper’s vocal coach.
On set, he and Lady Gaga clicked artistically as well; they later wrote songs together, and she sang backing vocals on his 2017 album.
“Decked out in humility after just winning a Grammy tonight, but it’s totally bonkers to win on the same night as my dad,” Lukas said on Twitter. “A rare privilege that only a handful of other father and son duos have shared. I’m thankful to be part of his legacy and eager to see it blossom further.”
Jacob “Micah” Nelson, 35
Willie Nelson’s youngest son, Jacob Micah Nelson – who usually goes by his middle name – is the offspring of Willie and Annie D’Angelo, born on May 24, 1990.
In 2012, Micah kicked off his music career with the name Particle Kid, a title derived from a well-known distorted quote of Willie who aimed to call his then-14-year-old ‘prodigal son.’ “It was such a crazy stoner moment,” Micah said to the Spokesman-Review in 2022. “The mix of his Texas twang and being so stoned was just hilarious. Hence, I’m proud to be the Particle Kid.”
The “Still Going” songwriter portrayed Willie as “a great dad,” yet he told, “he was never really into parenting,” giving his mom the credit as his main parent. however, he still said that his father had a huge impact on him: “I really got my empathy, kindness, and generosity from him…I wouldn’t even be playing music if not for him.”
Micah brought out his seventh record, Time Capsule, in April 2022. It was made over six years or so and has “Amerikan Lyfe,” a track featuring Willie that concludes with the dad’s very laugh. In the song notes, Micah stated, “It was also great that my dad wanted to play [his legendary guitar] Trigger and sing on it.”
Micah Nelson’s Musical Tributes and Life Present Day
In June 2022, Willie and Micah were able to work together once more in order to come up with “Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven),” a song that Micah penned after his father uttered the phrase casually during “endless rounds of chess and dominoes.” According to Micah`s statement in a press release, as seen on Pitchfork, the song is essentially a ‘love letter’ and a ‘tribute’ to Willie, and he also described the track as “a defiant answer to those who saw me as a lost prodigal son, without any real knowledge or respect for my father’s legacy, simply because I have never copied his style or courted his audience.”
As part of the 90th birthday festivities for Willie in April 2023, Micah played this song, and he shared with the audience, “I am pretty sure without you, dad wouldn’t even have made it to 90. Music keeps him alive and you keep the music alive, that’s why.”
Micah tied the knot with his wife in May 2019, a little away from the stage. They have a dog, Tsuki Blu Dascalu Nelson, who is often featured in Micah’s posts on Instagram.