Boxcar Willie

Boxcar Willie has never had a hit single and had struggled for many years doing it his own way. Then in 1979 at the Wembley International Country Music Festival, Willie exploded into the consciousness of British Country music fans. Soon his albums were selling like hotcakes in England, so he took his act back to the States and launched a TV album that eventually sold three million copies. In 1980, Boxcar Willie performed on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time, and the following year became a member of the Opry. The fans of Music City News voted Boxcar Willie "Most Promising Male Artist" in 1981. A few years later Willie had his own theater in Branson, Missouri, proving to be a pioneer in that future music Mecca.