Willie Nelson With a Special Christmas Song From 1963

Willie Nelson has given us so many great songs and albums throughout his career. Back in 1963 he wrote a great Christmas Song that was first recorded by Roy Orbison.

Willie Nelson wrote Pretty Paper in 1963 after being signed to Monument Records, who decided to pitch the song to Roy Orbison, who turned it into a hit. This was of course before Nelson's own singing career took off.

But in 1964, Willie recorded the song in his own unique and personal style and it shot up the charts and became a big hit for him.

Nelson was inspired to write the song after he remembered a man he often saw while he lived in Fort Worth. The man had his legs amputated and moved with rollers, selling paper and pencils in front of Leonard's Department Store. To attract the attention of the people, the man announced, "Pretty paper! Pretty paper!"

The song has been recorded by numerous artist, including Randy Travis, Elvis Presley, Kenny Chesney and others...But there is something about Willie's recording that makes it my favorite version.

Since we are only a week away from Christmas, I thought we would go back in time to a much younger Willie to bring you the above music video of Willie Nelson performing 'Pretty Paper'. Check it out!