VIDEO: Lukas Nelson Talks Relationship With Dad Willie Nelson, Performs 'All God Did' Live on the Stern Show

Lukas Nelson may be a second-generation country rock star, but there’s no question he forged his own path to success. The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and record producer sat down with Howard on Tuesday morning to chat about his newly released solo debut, “American Romance,” and perform his song “All God Did” live on the Stern Show. He also spoke candidly about his relationship with his father, the one-and-only Willie Nelson, revealing what it was like to grow up as the son of a legend and why it was important he blaze his own trail in the music industry, just as Willie had done decades prior.

“I really wanted to make my dad proud by being completely self-sufficient, you know? I wanted to make him proud by not needing him,” Lukas told Howard. “[So], I put 70,000 miles on a ’91 Econoline Ford with my first band [Promise of the Real], and we went out for 15 years and played 250 shows a year straight and built something with ourselves that now I can say I feel like I’ve earned — and I think that makes my dad and my mom the most proud.”

It was Willie who first inspired Lukas to pick up the guitar and start writing songs at a very young age, in part, Lukas explained, because of how much time the “On the Road Again” crooner spent, well, on the road.

“My dad would leave all the time, and I’d be naturally upset as a little kid, and I knew that if I learned how to be a great musician we would be bonded forever,” he told Howard, adding, “It wasn’t about being as great as him, it was about speaking the same language [and] being part of the club that understands music.”

Photo: Getty Images for SiriusXM

As it turned out, Lukas was a fast learner. He wrote his first song, “You Were It,” at the age of 11 and Willie was so “blown away” that he recorded his own version and put it on his 2004 album “It Always Will Be.” “Kris Kristofferson heard it, and he said, ‘Man, you don’t have a choice but to be a songwriter,’” Lukas recalled. “So, that really inspired me as a kid.”

The 36-year-old musician has found a great deal of success since writing that first song — writing and recording a slew of albums with his former band Promise of the Real, collaborating on tracks with his hero Neil Young, and even winning a Grammy for his work on the soundtrack for “A Star Is Born” — but when it came time to release his first solo album, Lukas knew “You Were It” needed to be on it.

“It’s a great song, and I don’t think that — since — I’ve written a song that’s better,” he told Howard.

Performing live Tuesday morning in the Stern Show studio, Lukas treated Howard and his listeners to a rendition of his original tune “All God Did” before also recording two captivating covers of Simon & Garfunkel classics for the upcoming special Howard Stern Presents: Lukas Nelson. Check out the performance (below).