Willie Nelson Honors Merle Haggard with Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle. Release Date & Tracklist

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Release date: Friday, November 7, 2025

Format: Digital, CD, single-LP vinyl

Label: Legacy Recordings

The Details: Willie Nelson's Tribute to Merle Haggard

Willie Nelson’s next album is a full-length tribute to Merle Haggard, not a duet record.

First single “Workin’ Man Blues” is out now; full album lands Nov 7, 2025.

Features 11 Haggard classics, produced by Willie with Mickey Raphael, recorded at Pedernales Studios.

Includes the final in-studio performances with Willie by Bobbie Nelson and Paul English.

Nelson and Haggard’s shared history: Pancho & Lefty (1983), Last of the Breed (2007, with Ray Price), Django and Jimmie (2015).

The Story: Willie Tips His Hat to “The Hag”

Country icon Willie Nelson is turning his attention back to an old friend and foil: Merle Haggard. On Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle, Nelson reinterprets 11 pillars of Haggard’s songbook—an affectionate, lived-in conversation with the music of a peer he knew as well as anyone. This isn’t a nostalgia lap; it’s Willie’s late-career specialty: entire albums that spotlight a single songwriter’s voice, filtered through his own unmistakable phrasing and guitar feel.

Importantly, the sessions capture a poignant coda: the final studio contributions from Willie’s sister and longtime pianist Bobbie Nelson and drummer Paul English, both foundational to the Family Band’s sound. The album was recorded at Pedernales Studios and produced by Willie with harmonica great Mickey Raphael, promising the warm, close-mic intimacy fans expect from Willie’s recent run.

First Listen: “Workin’ Man Blues”

Lead single “Workin’ Man Blues”—a 1969 No. 1 for Haggard—arrives like a handshake across decades. Willie doesn’t try to out-Hag the Hag; instead he leans on swing, pocket, and plain-spoken grace. The choice of opener signals the record’s North Star: everyday poetry sung with weathered authority.

Full Tracklist — Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle (11 Songs)

Workin’ Man Blues

Silver Wings

Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down

Today I Started Loving You Again

Swinging Doors

Okie from Muskogee

Mama Tried

I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink

Somewhere Between

If We Make It Through December

Ramblin’ Fever

Why This Release Matters:

Two legends, one narrative: Willie’s tribute inevitably doubles as a Merle primer—highly searchable for fans discovering Haggard via Nelson.

Authority & authenticity: Recorded with Family Band mainstays and cut at Pedernales, it’s a continuation of Willie’s trusted late-era blueprint (Sinatra, Gershwin, Crowell projects).

Cultural context now: The announcement coincides with renewed attention on Haggard’s life and catalog (including festival-circuit documentary coverage), increasing cross-interest and search volume.

Catalog synergy: Nelson/Haggard collaborations—Pancho & Lefty, Last of the Breed, Django and Jimmie—give editors and algorithms a clean internal-linking path and topical authority cluster.

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