"Her elegance, grace, beauty and talent made this world a better place," read a tribute on Willie Nelson's Instagram page.
Willie Nelson's beloved sister, bandmate and co-writer Bobby Nelson, died Thursday at the age of 91.
The pianist and singer, who performed with her famous brother for nearly 50 years, died "peacefully and surrounded by family" Thursday morning in Austin, Texas, revealed a post on Willie Nelson's Instagram page. The cause of death was not given.
The post said, "Her beauty, grace, beauty and talent made this world a better place. She was the first member of Willie's band, as their pianist and vocalist." "Our hearts are broken and he will be greatly missed. But we are so lucky to have him in our lives. Please keep his family in your thoughts and give them the privacy they need at this time."
A year and a half after Bobby Nelson passed away, she and her Willie Nelson, now 88, published a memoir about their unbreakable bond, "Me and Sister Bobby: True Tales of the Family Band," co-written by David Ritz.
When the siblings spoke to TODAY's Harry Smith to promote the book in November 2020, Willie Nelson spoke about his "younger" sister's musical talent, evident in childhood.
The 10-time Grammy winner laughed, "My little sister was always doing great music on the piano. I would sit on the piano stool next to her and try to figure out what she was doing."
During their conversation, the pair lovingly disagreed over which sibling is the better musician. When Bobby Nelson praised his brother for being "just born" with talent, Willie Nelson declined.
"Sister Bobby is a 10 times better musician than me," he insisted, "a little better con man, I guess."
Bobby Nelson told TODAY that his younger brother always supported him through the good and bad times in his life, which included several failed marriages and the deaths of his two sons.
"He was that guy. He was always that guy. And he knew I had a tough deal to deal with and that was me," she said.
Willie Nelson's dreams came true in 1973, when, after decades of asking Bobby Nelson to join her band, she finally agreed. She performed first on her brother's gospel album, "The Troublemaker" and then on the album "Shotgun Willie", before hitting the road to perform on tour with him for the next several decades.
But the "Whiskey River" singer wasn't the only one thrilled with the new arrangement.
"It was wonderful," Bobby Nelson implored him to play in the brother's band. "I loved it so much. It gave me a head start in the world I am today."
During interviews, the musician, who released his only solo album "Audiobiography" in 2017, called being a musician "a great way to live".
"If you go to the piano and guitar and play music, that's what I want to do... There can't be any better than this."