SKF NOTE: In his new autobiography, “It’s A Long Story: My Life,” Willie Nelson tells how he and longtime drummer, Paul English, first met. Willie was in radio station KCNC with guitarist Oliver English, Paul’s brother, who was, writes Willie, “another major musical mentor.”

Willie Nelson: Great characters were popping up everywhere I looked.

I saw Oliver [English] bring his brother Paul English to the station one day.

I liked Paul from the get-go. In nothing flat, he laid out his life story. He’d been busted for some petty crimes and gone to jail in Waxahachie. He talked about how he’d been on the Fort Worth Press’s “10 Most Unwanted” list five years in a row. He was a gun-toting, fun-loving outlaw with plenty of charm and no fears. But like his brother Oliver, was he also a musician?

“Get that cardboard box over there,” said Oliver. “Give Paul some brushes and let him play drums.”

Paul impressed us with pretty decent time.

Some time would pass before Paul and I hooked up again, but when we did, it would be forever.

– end –