Willie Nelson

The Family is Willie Nelson’s touring and recording group. Nelson, who did not manage through the 1960s to succeed as a singer, retired after the failure of his 1971 album Yesterday’s Wine. The following year, he returned from retirement rejuvenated by the burgeoning music movement of Austin, Texas. In 1973, he formed a new backing band. The new lineup consisted of some of the members of his old road band “The Record Men,” with the addition of new members. The original lineup included his sister, Bobbie, on the piano; drummer Paul English; harmonicist Mickey Raphael; bassist Bee Spears; and guitarist Jody Payne. The current lineup includes all the members but Jody Payne, who retired in 2008, Bee Spears, who died in 2011, and Paul English, who died in February 2020. Billy English joined in 1983 on percussion. Replacing Spears, Kevin Smith joined the band in 2012, and Willie Nelson’s son Lukas Nelson joined in 2013 replacing Payne. Bobbie Nelson died in 2022.