Willie Nelson: My Life

Truth be told, if country music were to go belly up tomorrow and disappear off the face of this earth, I would neither shed a tear nor lose one single wink of sleep. But you don't have to be a card-carryin' country music fan to enjoy Willie Nelson: My Life. Raised by his grandparents, who studied music through a correspondence course, young Nelson spent his formative years at odd jobs and playing music with his friends. Entering adulthood as a drifter, Nelson and his girlfriend Martha (who had a temper and would occasionally beat the tar out of Willie), had a habit of leaving their domicile right about the time the rent came due. Eventually, people discovered that Nelson had an innate gift for song writing (one of his early hits, "Family Bible," was sold for $50 to buy groceries for his children), and he quickly built a reputation for writing quality songs that said more than the standard cry in your beer tune. Oddly, it wasn't until late in his career that Nelson tried his hand at singing, and the rest, as they say, is history. The video combines interview clips with a star roster of Nelson's contemporaries (Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Ray Charles, Emmylou Harris, Mel Tillis, Ray Price, and others) with concert and home clips of his music ("On the Road Again," "Stardust," "Whiskey River," "Crazy," "Nitelife," "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain," and more). Too, director Sydney Pollack (The Electric Horseman) and co-star Gary Busey (Barbarosa) talk about Nelson's creditable acting stints. Although people looking for the dirt won't find it here (there's a very brief allusion to the infamous I.R.S. mess), Willie Nelson: My Life is a consistently entertaining documentary that captures the spirit of the man and his music. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (Available from: Hallway Entertainment & Distribution, 214 Second Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37201; (615) 254-7087.)