Willie Nelson’s Family Reflects on 1991 Death of His Son Billy in New Docuseries: ‘It Was Terribly Hard’

Country legend Willie Nelson is a proud dad to a large brood — but in 1991, he was devastated by the death of his son Billy.

Billy was just 33 years old when he died by suicide on Christmas Day, and in the new Paramount+ documentary series Willie Nelson & Family (streaming now), Nelson’s inner circle opens up about the ways in which the tragedy sent shockwaves through the family.

“He really was a wonderful guy, but it’s hard to be in Texas when your dad’s Willie Nelson. You can’t get away from it,” said Paula, the singer’s daughter with third wife Connie Koepke. “When Billy passed, it was terribly hard on him — on all of us. It was really hard for him because that was his first son.”

Billy was found dead at his log cabin home in Davidson County, Tennessee, and officials said he was legally drunk at the time of his death, which was around 2 a.m., according to a 1992 story published in PEOPLE.

All the Bombshells in Willie Nelson’s New Docuseries, from Affairs and the Death of His Son to His IRS Struggles

Friend Buddy Frank had visited him just hours before, on Christmas Eve, and told PEOPLE that Billy — an occasional musician with plans to release an album of original gospel songs — had been forward-thinking, getting himself a haircut and buying new pants and boots.

In the docuseries, Billy’s sister Lana said her brother suffered from depression: “He didn’t want to be depressed, he didn’t want to be that guy. He tried really hard, he did.”

Sister Susie added that she and Billy were just 17 months apart, and were inseparable (Nelson shared Billy, Lana and Susie with his first wife Martha).

“We did everything together, but he had a lot of issues,” she said. “They became more and more.”

Nelson’s business manager Mark Rothbaum, meanwhile, said that Billy took issue with the way his father had been treated, and felt as though he’d “been exploited too often by too many people. Life was hard for him.”

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In the docuseries, Nelson talks about the loss only briefly, saying, “Those were bad times” when speaking about his busy 1992, which aside from the fallout of Billy’s death, also included struggles with the IRS and a grueling performance schedule.

In spite of the tragedy, Nelson’s late sister Bobbie found a silver lining, saying in the docuseries that she and her brother “grew even closer” after Billy’s death.

“It’s not that we had long talks about our grief — that’s not Willie’s way,” she said. “We didn’t have to talk about it. We knew.”

Willie Nelson & Family finds the icon looking back on the extraordinary highs (platinum- and gold-selling albums, worldwide tours and strong family ties) and dark lows (affairs, divorce, loss and money and health struggles) he’s experienced over the past 90 years.

Presented by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Blackbird Presents Films and Sight Unseen, the series was filmed throughout the country and features insights from not only Willie himself, but also his children, his wife Annie D’Angelo, his former loves, his late sister Bobbie Nelson (who died at age 91 in 2022), his fellow musicians and his lifelong friends.

With regards to famous people, one thing is sure, their lives are everything except conventional, and the biography of remarkable individual Willie Nelson is only the ideal illustration of that.

This unimaginable man has been making our lives a piece better since the 60’s the point at which he began composing tunes that turned tremendous hits for well known names like Beam Value, Patsy Cline and Billy Walker.

By 1975, Nelson was at that point a star himself and did what nobody has done it previously; he made music blending different styles, including conventional pop, Western swing, jazz, customary country, cowpoke melodies, honky tonk, rock and roll, people, and the blues. The end-product was countless fans and never-ending hits.

Nelson was first acquainted with music and instruments when was still exceptionally youthful. As a matter of fact, he has composed his most memorable melody at the time of only 7 and by the age of 13, he performed with Bounce Wills, the creator of Western swing music. He and his sister Bobbie, who plays in his band, were raised by their grandparents, Alfred and Nancy Nelson, who both concentrated on music courses. Nelson picked the guitar and never let it go, not even today at 89 years old.

Last May, an individual from Nelson’s band was tried positive for Coronavirus and they had to drop their featuring space at Jazz Fest.

Unfortunately, Nelson gotten the infection too, however taking into account his age, he encountered a lot of challenges and the way to recuperation was certainly not a simple one.

At some point, as the band was made a beeline for Nashville, Nelson whined that he encountered inconveniences relaxing. A test affirmed he was positive of the infection so the family got back to Spicewood, Texas, where specialists ran a lot of tests to decide the seriousness of the nation vocalist’s medical issue.

Nelson’s significant other, Anne, said that the performer had to take prescriptions to assist with working with his relaxing.

While battling the infection, Nelson’s house was transformed into a clinical office. Fortunately, he began feeling far improved in the wake of requiring fourteen days from visiting.

Nelson later drilled down into the infection and said that it took close to home and actual cost for him.

In any case, he figured out how to defeat the difficult stretches and got back on visiting, satisfying fans from everywhere the country.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Willie Nelson during this difficult times…

Willie Nelson is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed living performers in the genre of country music

Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels

Nelson has been married four times and has eight children. His first marriage was to Martha Matthews from 1952 to-

Willie Nelson, the iconic country music legend, has spent decades serenading fans with his heartfelt lyrics and timeless melodies. However, behind the scenes, his family has been embroiled in a painful and public feud that has tarnished his otherwise storied legacy. At the center of the conflict is a bitter dispute over money, property, and the management of his estate, pitting Nelson against some of his own children. What was once a tight-knit family has become fractured, with lawsuits and harsh words exchanged in the media.