In 1990, the IRS came after Willie Nelson for unpaid taxes. Among the assets the government agency seized were the singer's Texas home and most of the possessions inside it. "The worst thing about it was that they took his music," Bobbie Nelson told Vanity Fair for a 1991 profile of her brother. "They didn't take just material things, they took all the tapes in the studio. To lose that too..."
Reporter Ron Rosenbaum touched on several other sad topics, including the death of Willie and Bobbie's mom, Willie's high school girlfriend dying in a car accident, and Willie's discography full of sorrowful songs. "Everything I write is sort of sad," Willie said. When the singer mentioned that he had penned a song titled "Your Memory Won't Die in My Grave," this also briefly sparked a discussion about suicide.
The Vanity Fair piece was published that November. The following month, Willie's first son, William "Billy" Hugh Nelson Jr., died by suicide on Christmas Day. "I've never experienced anything so devastating in my life," Nelson said to a friend, according to a 1992 People report. Billy, whose mother was Martha Jewel Matthews, had been working on a gospel album before his death.
Some of Willie's family members speak about Billy in the 2023 Paramount+ docuseries "Willie Nelson & Family." His sister Lana reveals his struggle with depression, per the Daily Mail. "It's not that we had long talks about our grief — that's not Willie's way," Bobbie shares. "We didn't have to talk about it. We knew."
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