Willie Nelson at the Willie Nelson Fourth held as part of “The Texxas World Music Festival” at the Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX, July 2, 1978. Photo by Leonard Kamsler, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Waylon Jennings, 1976. Photo by Leonard Kamsler, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Kris Kristofferson at Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic, 1978. Photo by Leonard Kamsler, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Willie Nelson gave Bobby Bare this hat—embellished with a mink skull, gemstone, feathers, and snake skin—in the early 1970s. Courtesy of Bobby Bare (Photo Bob Delevante, courtesy Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum)

Utility shirt worn by Army captain and Airborne Ranger Kris Kristofferson. He resigned his commission in 1965, and moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of becoming a professional songwriter. (Photo Bob Delevante, courtesy Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum)

Custom built for Paul Buskirk by California luthier Jim Harvey in 1958, this double-neck electric guitar has a six-string mandola-scale neck and a standard guitar neck. It features a bird’s-eye maple body; walnut accents; abalone inlays; Fender Stratocaster pickups; and Bigsby vibratos. Courtesy of Deke Dickerson (Photo Bob Delevante, courtesy Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum)

Illustration by Jim Franklin

Illustration by Guy Juke

Illustration by Kerry Awn

Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images

Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images

Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images