Willie Nelson has been the man for a long, long time.
The living country music legend just celebrated his 91st birthday back on April 29th, and if you remember, Willie had quite the birthday bash for the big 9-0 in 2023. Nelson is showing no signs of slowing down, which is remarkable for a man of his age.
I’m not sure anyone has ever emitted the “age is just a number” mantra more than Willie. In his mind and spirit, Nelson probably still sees himself in his prime. Could his longevity be credited to his recognizable relationship with marijuana? Or the fact that he’s a 5th degree black belt? Those could definitely be contributing factors, though I think a lot of it just comes from the joy he gets out of living life.
And as you probably know, Willie has lived a lot of life. He took a moment to look back at a highlight of his career earlier today when he posted a clip of one of his appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The clip below, which originally aired on March 25th of 1986, shows the iconic Johnny Carson singing along with Willie to his hit song “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before.”
The late great Johnny Carson was a comedic wizard, and was very respectable when it came to impressions. The longtime Tonight Show host did his best Willie Nelson impersonation as he sang along with him, which made for a rendition of the song that sounded like a two Willie Nelson’s singing a duet.
Check it out:
Willie has looked like he’s 70 years old for 40 years. In case you didn’t know, that’s the real key to aging. Looking much older than you are at a younger age, that way as you get older, people say, “Man, he hasn’t changed a bit in the last 20 years.” That’s Willie Nelson.
It’s always cool to see vintage videos of some of our favorite country stars, and if you have the time, you won’t be disappointed taking a look at Nelson’s full 1986 appearance on the Tonight Show:
