TEXAS — Pianist and singer Bobbie Nelson died Thursday morning in her sleep at the age of 91, the family said.

Nelson was best known for her more than 50 years of recording and touring with her brother, music icon Willie Nelson.

She was the first member of the Willie Nelson and Family band. Bobbie and her brother Willie started playing music together when they were young kids in Abbott, Texas. By the time they were teens, they were playing honky-tonks together with their father Ira Nelson and Bobbie’s husband, Bud Fletcher.

However, when Fletcher died in a car accident, Bobbie gave up music to attend business college to raise her three kids. As her kids grew up, Bobbie worked as a piano entertainer in Austin and Nashville to earn a living.

After signing a deal with Atlantic Records in 1972, Willie invited Bobbie to join him for a recording session and ultimately join his band.

Bobbie Nelson released her debut album, “Autobiography,” in 2007. It includes 12 of her favorite songs with two of them featuring Willie singing and playing the guitar.

Most recently Bobbie, Nelson was featured on the album “The Willie Nelson Family,” a collection of country gospel-flavored songs. The musical duo also collaborated on two books.

Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson took to Twitter to mourn the loss of his close friend.