Everybody knows the legendary Willie Nelson, either for his music, his acting, his activism, or all of the above. Nelson is known for being one of the fathers of ‘outlaw country’, a country music sub-genre that started in the 60s as a protest to the conservative Nashville sound. Nelson became one of the most famous country artists in country music after his massively successful albums, ‘Shotgun Willie’ (1973), ‘Red Headed Stranger’ (1975), ‘Stardust’ (1978).
Nelson has won several Grammys, AMAs, CMAs, ACMs and even a Gershwin Prize. The country music star has also been a devoted activist, co-written many books, and acted in more than 30 films.
$100 Million
Brian Douglas Wilson was born in 1942, in Inglewood, California. At the age of six, he discovered that he was partially deaf in his right ear, of course, that fact didn't stop him from becoming a world-famous musician.
Brian Wilson is most widely known as a band member and primary songwriter of The Beach Boys. Many may not know that he was also the band's manager and producer.
$120 million
American rapper, singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, and actor, Lil Wayne has a massive wealth of $160 million. Born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., Lil Wayne began his music career in 1996, at a young 13 years old. The young rapper was discovered by famous American record executive and rapper, Birdman. Lil Wayne became Cash Money Records youngest member, and his fame and fortune just grew steadily after that.
Wayne's debut solo album, 'Tha Blok is Hot', which he released at a young 17 years of age, was number 3 on the Billboard 200 and certified Platinum. The rapper went on to release another 13 albums, among them 'Tha Carter', which would have five different volumes, each as a different album. All of his albums saw massive success, and that's not counting his mixtapes and many collaborations.
$365 Million
Toby Keith Covel is an American country singer, songwriter, and record producer. Hailed as a "traditionalist" in the genre, he's quiet the modern cowboy. His first four studio albums have all earned Gold or higher certification, and he's made several Top Ten singles, including his single "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the charts and was the most-played country song of the 90s. It's reported that the song has received over 3 million spins since its release, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated. His next three albums, Pull My Chain, Unleashed, and Shock'n Y'all, were certified 4 times Platinum.
F Throughout Keith's career he's released 19 studio albums, 2 Christmas albums, and 5 compilation albums; with a total worldwide sales of over 40 million albums. He has charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, which includes 20 number one hits (and 21 additional top 10 hits). As of today, he ranks as the 13th richest singer in the world, with a net worth of $365 million, although some report that he's net worth is actually closer to $500 million.
$15 Million
Back in 1987, Lou Reed told an interviewer "I wanted to write the great American novel, but I also loved rock & roll...I wanted to write rock & roll that you could listen to as you got older, that wouldn't lose anything, that would be timeless, in the subject matter and the literacy of the lyrics." And so it was.
before he embarked on his solo career, Reed was part of the rock n' roll band, The Velvets. Although they didn't receive much commercial success, they grew to be appreciated over time as one of the first bands to introduce "mature" topics to the genre like drug abuse, unconventional sex, and even death.