Why Does Country Legend Willie Nelson Have Two Birthdays? Inside the Details

Legendary country star Willie Nelson has been around for decades, making the hits that his fans love, but the same fans may not know everything about him, such as the reason why he celebrates not one, but two birthdays.

One birthday is special enough, but Willie gets to enjoy double the fun every year because he has two special days to commemorate, a tradition that he has held throughout the majority of his life.

There’s an interesting backstory about why the country star has the distinction of celebrating two birthdays (on April 29 and April 30), which he explained in an interview with SiriusXM in 2018.

"I was born before midnight on the 29th, but it didn't get registered in the county courthouse until the next day, the 30th," Willie explained. "So, it went out officially as the 30th. So I just do both days."

Per his daughter Lana, in an interview with Texas Monthly, Willie solely celebrated the April 29 date until he was 18; however, after he joined the Air Force and obtained a copy of his birth certificate, he also started celebrating on April 30.

Speaking with the Associated Press in November 2024, Willie shared his positive outlook about growing older. “Well, I’m 91 plus, so, you know, I’m not worried about it,” he began.

“I don’t feel bad. I don’t hurt anywhere. I don’t have any reason to worry about dying. But I don’t know anybody who’s lived forever,” Willie told the outlet. “I take pretty good care of myself. And I feel like I’m in pretty good shape physically. Mentally? That’s another story,” he added, laughing.

During the pandemic, Willie spoke with Slate in December 2020 about the wisdom he’s acquired with age and what he would tell his younger self. “Well, when I was young, I was pretty dumb. And now that I’m older, I’m pretty f---ing dumb. I don’t know everything, and I think I do. So there’s the problem,” he surmised jokingly. “I didn’t ever think I’d get this old. I always thought I was lucky to make it past 21.”

“Well, I don’t know that anything I would say now is anything that I would’ve listened to back then,” Willie told the outlet about advice he would offer his younger self. “I was still too stubborn to listen to anything or anybody, and I’ve had a lot of bruises because of it. And I’ve lived through it. But I don’t know that if I went back I’d change anything.”

Despite it being his birthday, Willie gave a gift to his fans with the release of his new album, "Oh What a Beautiful World," on April 25. He released the album’s title track back in March, which is a duet with fellow country artist Rodney Crowell, and also dropped the single “Banks of the Old Bandera” just before the project’s release.