TITLE: Honoring Bobbie Nelson for her contributions to Texas music.

SUMMARY: Honoring Bobbie Nelson for her contributions to Texas music.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Pianist Bobbie Nelson has been playing music for virtually her entire life, and today, after nearly eight decades as a performer, she is continuing to enrich the proud musical legacy of Texas; and WHEREAS, Bobbie Nelson was born on New Year's Day 1931 in Abbott; her parents divorced early in her childhood, and she and her younger brother, Willie, were raised by their grandparents, William and Nancy Nelson, who instilled in both children a deep love of music; at the age of five, she learned to play keyboards from her grandmother, first on the family pump organ and later on a piano her grandfather bought for $35; after her brother learned the guitar, the siblings began performing gospel songs together at school events and at the local Methodist church; and WHEREAS, In her early teens, Ms. Nelson got her start as a touring musician, playing piano on the revival circuit with a traveling preacher; at 16, she married Bud Fletcher, who organized and managed the Nelson siblings' first band, Bud Fletcher and the Texans; she and her husband became the parents of three sons, but after their marriage ended, she lost custody of her children for a time because the courts disapproved of her occupation of playing music in honky-tonks; her career was put on hold as she fought to reunite her family, though she was able to put her talents to use after being hired as a demonstrator for the Hammond Organ Company; following stints in Fort Worth and Austin, she relocated to Nashville to be near her brother, who had begun building a reputation as one of country music's best songwriters; both Bobbie and Willie returned to Texas in the early 1970s and have considered themselves Austinites ever since; and WHEREAS, Ms. Nelson started performing on her brother's recordings, including his 1975 breakthrough album Red Headed Stranger;through the decades, "Sister Bobbie," as Willie affectionately calls her, has also been a key member of his touring band, Family, delighting audiences with her skill in a variety of musical idioms; in 2007, she released her first solo album, a collection of pop and country standards called Audiobiography,and in 2014, she and her brother released December Day,an album inspired by their informal jam sessions on the tour bus; and WHEREAS, From her early days of playing the pump organ in her grandparents' parlor to her performances in recording studios and on concert stages around the world, Bobbie Nelson has built a sterling reputation as a skilled and intuitive keyboard player, and her role as an integral member of Willie Nelson and Family has earned her an honored place among the beloved musicians of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas Legislature hereby commend Bobbie Nelson for her long and illustrious career and for her contributions to Texas music; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Ms. Nelson as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Raymond Straus Goldman Oliverson Allen Gonzales of Williamson Ortega Alonzo Gonz lez of El Paso Paddie Alvarado Gooden Parker Anchia Guerra Paul Anderson of Dallas Guillen Perez Anderson of McLennan Gutierrez Phelan Ar valo Hefner Phillips Ashby Hernandez Pickett Bailes Herrero Price Bell Hinojosa Raney Bernal Holland Raymond Biedermann Howard Reynolds Blanco Huberty Rinaldi Bohac Hunter Roberts Bonnen of Brazoria Isaac Rodriguez of Bexar Bonnen of Galveston Israel Rodriguez of Travis Burkett Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr. Burns Johnson of Harris Rose Burrows Kacal Sanford Button Keough Schaefer Cain King of Hemphill Schofield Canales King of Parker Schubert Capriglione King of Uvalde Shaheen Clardy Klick Sheffield Coleman Koop Shine Collier Krause Simmons Cook Kuempel Smithee Cortez Lambert Springer Cosper Landgraf Stephenson Craddick Lang Stickland Cyrier Larson Stucky Dale Laubenberg Swanson Darby Leach Thierry Davis of Dallas Longoria Thompson of Brazoria Davis of Harris Lozano Thompson of Harris Dean Lucio III Tinderholt Deshotel Martinez Turner Dukes Metcalf Uresti Dutton Meyer VanDeaver Elkins Miller Villalba Faircloth Minjarez Vo Fallon Moody Walle Farrar Morrison White Flynn Mu oz, Jr. Wilson Frank Murphy Workman Frullo Murr Wray Geren Neave Wu Gervin-Hawkins Nev rez Zedler Giddings Oliveira Zerwas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 564 was adopted by the House on February 23, 2017, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House