When she was five, her grandmother taught her to play keyboards with a pump organ, and after successful appearances at gospel conventions held in Hillsboro, Texas, her grandfather bought her a piano.

Her grandfather took her to singing gospel conventions that were held on the courthouse in Hillsboro, Texas, where she performed for the first time—in front of about a thousand people.

When Fletcher died in a car accident in 1961, Nelson suffered a breakdown and was admitted to a hospital in Fort Worth.

[5] To retrieve custody of their children, she married again and started working in a television repair shop in town.

She joined Willie Nelson's newly formed band, The Family, full-time and started touring with him.

[5] Nelson released her solo debut album, Audiobiography, in 2008[5] Nine years later, she was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

[8] In 2020, Nelson co-authored with her brother and writer David Ritz the autobiography Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band.