After moving around from his hometown of Abbott, Texas, and working as a DJ in Pleasanton, Fort Worth, and San Diego, California during his early 20s, Willie Nelson settled in Vancouver, Washington, in 1956. Working as a DJ for KVAN, Nelson described himself on his Western Express show as a “cotton-pickin’, snuff-dippin’, tobacca-chewin’, stump-jumpin’, gravy-soppin’, coffee-pot-dodgin’, dumplin-eatin’, frog-giggin’, hillbilly from Hill County, Texas.”
Before Vancouver, Nelson had already made some of his first recordings while working in Pleasanton in 1955, with “The Storm Has Just Begun,” a song he originally wrote when he was 12, and “When I’ve Sung My Last Hillbilly Song,” among others.
In Vancouver, Nelson’s popularity as a DJ rose, even earnng him a fan club, while he continued performing, writing, and recording.
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The Origins of “Family Bible”
Nelson also used the radio station equipment to record his first single “No Place For Me,” in 1957, which sold 3,000 copies. During this time, he also recorded a demo of “Family Bible.” The song was inspired by Nelson’s grandmother, Nancy Elizabeth Smothers, who would often read from the Bible and sing the Christian hymn “Rock of Ages” after dinner.
After Nelson played a demo of the song for his guest on the show, Mae Boren Axton, the “Queen Mother of Nashville,” who also co-wrote Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” she suggested he move to Nashville and work as a songwriter full time.
Moving to Nashville
When KVAN denied Nelson a raise, he moved to Houston and lived in nearby Pasadena in 1957, where he worked for KBOP and regularly played at the Esquire Ballroom and Gilley’s Nightclub. During his commutes, Nelson continued writing, penning Patsy Cline‘s 1961 hit “Crazy,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and more songs, many of which he sold.
Before Nelson could record some of his recent songs, he sold a few to his friend and guitar instructor, Paul Buskirk, who took them to the singer Claude Gray. Known as “the Tall Texan,” Gray recorded several of Nelson’s songs, including “Leave Along,” “The Party’s Over,” “Night Life,” and “Family Bible.” The latter went to No. 7 on the Country chart.
When released, Buskirk, Gray, and Walt Breeland were credited as the songwriters, but Nelson still benefited from its success and used it to finally move to Nashville in 1960 with his first wife, Martha Matthews, and their children. “I felt if I could write one hit song, I could write another,” said Nelson.
In 1960 George Jones also released a cover of “Family Bible,” which went to No. 16, giving Nelson enough ammunition as a songwriter to get started in Nashville.
More than a decade later, Nelson compensated for not getting the early songwriting credit on “Family Bible” by recording his version of the song on his 1971 album Yesterday’s Wine, and featuring it again as the title track of his 1980 gospel album.
Photo: Willie Nelson records in the studio in circa 1965. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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