Willie Nelson is more than an acclaimed singer/songwriter. He is also an actor. Nelson has appeared in several movies and TV shows over the years. His credits include Stagecoach, The Electric Horseman, Honeysuckle Rose, Red-Headed Stranger and many more. In 1984, he co-starred in a movie called Songwriter with his fellow Highwaymen member Kris Kristofferson. Earlier this month, he shared some throwback photos from the film.
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In the photos, Nelson is sitting behind a desk wearing a shirt with what appears to be nonsense lettering. In the second photo, though, he folds the shirt to reveal the hidden message. Check it out below. The Red-Headed Stranger appropriately captioned the post “The shirt that keeps on giving.”
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Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson Star in Songwriter
Songwriter is a satirical comedy film about a country artist seeking freedom from a bad deal. Nelson plays Doc Jenkins, a songwriter who finds himself wrapped up in a deal with a Nashville gangster who takes all the profits from his songs.
After getting fed up with writing, recording, touring, and having nothing to show for it, Jenkins hatches a plan to get out of his deal. He steps away from recording and becomes a manager for his former singing partner Blackie Buck (Kristofferson). They work together to get Jenkins away from the deal he is locked into and on his feet again.
Some say that writer Bud Shrake based much of Songwriter on Nelson’s life. In the early years of his career, Nelson wrote and sold several songs that went on to be hits for other people. For instance, he famously sold “Night Life” for $150. Then, it went on to be a hit with more than 70 covers. In truth, Nelson didn’t see success until he got away from Nashville completely. He moved back to Texas where he didn’t have to worry about the major label politics and could focus on creating the music he wanted to create.
It was at this time that he released albums like Shotgun Willie (1973), Red Headed Stranger (1975), and Stardust (1978). Those albums helped to propel Nelson to new heights.
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