Born in Abbott, Texas, on April 29, 1933, Willie Nelson is one of the most popular, prolific, and influential songwriters and singers in the history of American music. He has been inducted into a number of music halls of fame, was named a Kennedy Center honoree in 1998, and was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He has recorded more than one hundred albums over six decades. In January 2002, Lost Highway Records will release his first major album of all-new material in five years, The Great Divide.