Of course, I’m sure many of you are familiar with the “Bitin’ List” trend on social media, which was of course inspired by Tyler Childers’ song from his recent Snipe Hunter album. He sings about who he would bite if he ever got rabies, and it’s inspired many others to make videos with the audio sharing things or people that annoy them.
But I think Willie Nelson just beat everyone…
He, or someone from his team more likely, shared a photo on Instagram earlier of his album cover from his The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? record, which was created to raise money so he could pay off all the money he owed to the IRS.
Of course, he was involved in a huge lawsuit with the federal government in the 90’s that stemmed from tax issues, and so obviously, the IRS is at the very top of Willie’s “Bitin’ List”:
“Bitin’ List 1990’s Edition: THE IRS.”
There is no other option… I think the IRS on anyone’s “Bitin’ List” is timeless, actually…
And if you’re unfamiliar with this whole story, it’s pretty wild. Back in August of 1990, the IRS showed up at Willie’s door, and federal agents actually seized Willie’s property in six different states, including his houses and land, his master tapes, his recording and touring equipment, his gold records, and even his clothes.
They claimed that the country legend owed $16.7 million in unpaid tax bills to Uncle Sam, and while they tried to auction most of it away in order to recoup part of the money he owed, many of his loyal fans and fellow Texans stepped in to buy it all back for him. You should definitely go read about that remarkable story HERE.
And in his 2015 memoir It’s a Long Story: My Life, Willie detailed some of what happened from his perspective.
He cleared up rumors that his band ever disbanded, saying they were willing to work for less money during that time and they never broke up… quite the opposite, in fact. And while obviously when you’re in trouble with the IRS, that typically spells major trouble, Willie handled it a whole let better than most would:
“I’m not saying I wasn’t in a serious financial stew. I sure as sh*t was. But I had my health and my fighting spirit.”
Willie added that he “never” thought of declaring bankruptcy, and he went along with the plan created by his manager Mark Rothbaum, which was supported by his attorney’s Joel Katz and Jay Goldberg, as well as tax expert Larry Goldfein, to fight the IRS.
And that’s quite a battle, indeed… not something most people would want to do, but hey, it’s Willie Nelson we’re talking about.
Willie Fights The IRS
He recalled showing up to the IRS offices in Austin, Texas on the first day of questioning, expecting some big fancy New York City lawyer to be there to question him.
But instead, it was a good ol’ boy from Willie’s part of Texas, and he recalled that they got on with some casual conversation, and Willie said he immediately liked him. They chitchatted for a while, but Willie knew the intention of having a fellow Texan there was part of a larger strategy.
But he had an idea too… and it was brilliant.
Willie had his team park his bus, which had a huge western scene painted on the front that you couldn’t miss, right in front of the courthouse so all of downtown Austin would know he was there. When fans inevitably realized Willie was there, he was happy to sign autographs and show them around:
“When it came time to question me — a two-day ordeal scheduled at the IRS offices in Austin — I got an idea. By then I had Honeysuckle Rose II, the second incarnation of my custom bus with a Western scene painted on the exterior.
‘Let’s roll up to Austin in the bus,’ I told my team, ‘and park it right in front of their building.’ That’s what we did. The first sessions started at about eleven. I showed up in my usual jeans, T-shirt, and jogging shoes.
I expected to be facing some sharpshooter from New York City. But they threw me a curve. The attorney was a good ol’ boy from my part of Texas.”
He explained that he stayed “on guard” and answered only what he knew and nothing more. Simply put, he says:
“Their strategy didn’t work. Mine did.”
And as far as fans figuring out the country superstar was there, well, that didn’t take long at all. By the time they took a lunch break from the hearing, many were waiting for him outside.
His on the spot meet-and-greet of sorts took three hours:
“My strategy was to position my bus so that by lunchtime all of downtown Austin knew where it was parked. By the time we took our twelve-thirty break, there was a huge crowd of fans lined up outside Honeysuckle Rose II.
One by one I let them on the bus, signed whatever they wanted me to sign, and let them take as many pictures as they liked. That took nearly three hours. When we got back up to the IRS offices, I apologized for the delay.”
Kind of insane that he just stayed out there and wasn’t worried about getting back into the courthouse for a federal hearing, but once again, this is Willie Nelson we’re talking about.
Willie added that the second day, the crowds were so big, Austin police had to come in and help keep it orderly. And not only that, but the clerks and secretaries at the IRS were sneaking out to see it and meet Willie, too (and I can’t say I blame them).
And after the last session, the lawyer had one last question:
“You sure you secretly never went to one of those fancy law schools back east, Willie?”
Checkmate.
Willie assured him that wasn’t the case, and that he had gotten all of his smarts from attending Abbott High, but it wasn’t over quite yet.
Willie Records ‘The IRS Tapes’
Willie obviously didn’t have the past-due tax money the Feds wanted, but he could always “sing for [his] supper,” and that’s exactly what he did. He famously made a double album of sorts, the aforementioned The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?, which were created as low-budget as possible.
The feds agreed to his plan of using that project as a way to make money and pay them back, and Willie was the only musician that played on the songs, creating a bare-bones collection of 24 songs in total.
Sony, who had him under contract at the time, also put in some money to help and the album was mainly marketed as a TV commercial. The cover of the album featured Willie wearing a cowboy hat with a T-shirt that read “S*** happens.”
The red headed stranger also once said that he made the album as a way to “test their sense of humor,” making him probably the one and only person who ever had any desire to “test” the IRS, but hey, they don’t call him an outlaw for nothin’… you have to earn that kind of nickname.
I mean, just look at how he handled the questioning from the media outside of the courthouse during a two year drug trafficking investigation that took place in Fort Worth, Texas. Smoother than butter:
How to handle a sticky situation from the original outlaw… pic.twitter.com/EcIXMa8Ftn
— Willie Nelson (@WillieNelson) February 2, 2024
There is and will only ever be Willie Nelson, and God bless him for it. Long live the red headed stranger.
“Who’ll Buy My Memories”
“Yesterday’s Wine”
“Pretend I Never Happened”
And while we’re here…
“Bitin’ List”