Willie Nelson once stopped a shootout in Alabama in the 1970s. You read that correctly...yes, that Willie Nelson, now 91, he of the amazing career spanning decades and the outlaw country music subgenre trailblazer.
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This tale sounds like it came straight out of a Willie Nelson song about the long-ago frontier where villains and good guys mixed it up to settle scores all the time.
So what exactly did Willie Nelson do to restore law and order? Read on to find out!
It All Began In A Parking Garage
People Were Wildly Shooting At Each Other
According to Whiskey Riff, Nelson's tour bus driver and stage manager, Randy "Poodie" Locke, shared vivid recollections of the day the bullets were flying every which-way when he spoke about for Willie Nelson's autobiography.
The band was stowing their gear in the tour bus as usual following a show at the Birmingham Coliseum. Then Locke and the others heard the ominous sound of gunfire from a .357 Magnum.
The Scene Was Chaotic And Violent
As Locke remembered it, "People are piling out of the show and they start scattering. Here come the cops from every direction. They're flying out of their cars, hitting the parking deck, spread-eagling the whole crowd...
From Locke's observations, it appears that a woman was shooting at a man, unleashing pure mayhem.
"We cut the lights and slip around the back of the bus. All you can see are police headlights in a big semi-circle and hundreds of people laying flat on the ground.. all these cops are squatting down in the doorjambs, turning people over, frisking them, aiming guns at everybody, just waiting for the next shot to be fired."
Yikes!
Along Comes Willie Nelson, Chill As Ever
Wearing A Crazy Get-Up, Nelson Was Unfazed By The Commotion
Locke's description of how Nelson was clad that night is priceless. His ensemble consisted of tennis shoes and cutoffs, with two enormous Colt .45s jammed in his waistband. No one in their right mind would interfere with a dude who looked like that!
Some folks have a knack for defusing bad situations by their mere unflappable presence. Willie Nelson must be one of those chosen people.
As Locke tells it, Nelson ambled over to the fray and asked - classic deadpan-style, I bet - "What's the trouble?" Whoa, I can just picture it!
Per Locke's account, "The cops put up their guns, the people climb off the concrete, and pretty soon Willie is signing autographs."
Did it really happen like that or is this story just part of Willie Nelson's larger-than-life lore? We're unclear about that, but it sure adds to his mystique!
