Boxcar Willie
by George Bailey
Boxcar Willie, one of America's best-known country musicians, spent his fair share of time in Branson. Born Lecil Travis Martin, Boxcar Willie acquired the nickname by which he's known sitting by the railroad in Nebraska in the early 1950's. Seeing a man sitting in a boxcar who looked like his chief boom operator, Willie Wilson, Lecil said: "There goes Willie." Apt to his destiny, Lecil wrote a song about his experience, which he named, "Boxcar Willie"-- and the rest is history. The man we've come to know as Boxcar Willie was a pilot for the US Air Force before he was an icon in the American country music canon, and his musical success did not interfere with his previous career. He remained an active member of military until 1976, at what time he began performing full time. Boxcar Willie served over 10 million albums in his life. On April 12th, 1999, he succumbed to leukemia. He died here Branson Missouri and he will be missed.