After Dinner Speakers: Willie Nelson, Leslie Thomas, Davina McCall

Willie Nelson began as a songwriter and grew into a durable country troubadour of the late 20th century. Nelson wrote "Crazy" (the signature tune of Patsy Cline), "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Rainy Day Blues" among many other 1960s hits. His breakthrough 1975 album Red-Headed Stranger included the hit "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" and cemented his reputation as a honky-tonk outlaw with a touch of sentimental hippie in him. (Blue jeans, bandannas, long red braids and the Texas flag all became part of his motif.) His other hits included "On the Road Again" and "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Nelson also acted, appearing in movies like Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Thief (1981) and Babarossa (1982). In the 1980s Nelson performed with The Highwaymen, a supergroup including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. He also became an activist, starting the annual "Farm Aid" megaconcerts in 1985. In 1993 Nelson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.