Randall “Poodie” Locke, road manager for Willie Nelson, died May 6 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Briarcliff, Texas. Locke was 56. Having worked with Nelson since 1974, Locke was described as “the heart and soul of the road crew” by Nelson’s biographer, Joe Nick Patoski, author of An Epic Life. Locke was also owner of Poodie’s Hilltop Bar and Grill, which he opened in Spicewood, Texas, in 2002. The club, with a capacity for 133, served as a venue where Nelson, Merle Haggard and others performed, often unannounced, for hours. It also hosted lesser-known musicians looking for their first big break.
Locke, who got his nickname after winning Waco’s “Most Beautiful Baby” contest in 1952, is survived by his girlfriend, his mother and a sister.
