Willie Nelson To Honor Merle Haggard With 78th Solo Studio Album, ‘Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle’

Willie Nelson is at it again.

The country music icon is gearing up to release his 78th career solo studio album (the 155th of his career in total), and this latest endeavor will pay tribute to another country music legend… the great Merle Haggard.

Titled Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle, the album is set to drop on Friday, November 7th, and feature 11 country classics penned by the Hag, himself. The tracklist features a bunch of Merle hits like “Silver Wings,” “Okie From Muskogee,” “Swingin’ Doors,” and many more. Of course, Nelson and Haggard were longtime friends who released a handful collaborative albums together including 1983’s Pancho and Lefty, 1987’s Seashores of Old Mexico, 2007’s Last Of The Breed (alongside Ray Price) and 2015’s Django and Jimmie.

Produced by Willie himself, along with longtime bandmate and friend Mickey Raphael, the album was recorded at Nelson’s Pedernales Studios in Austin and features the final recordings he did with his sister Bobbie Nelson and drummer Paul English. With Bobbie on piano and English behind the drum kit, the project also features Raphael on harmonica, Kevin Smith on bass and Paul’s brother Billy English on additional drums and percussion.

Willie kicks the project off with lead single, “Workin’ Man Blues,” one of his most iconic songs and a cornerstone of the Bakersfield sound. Released in 1969, the track is a gritty, yet heartfelt tribute to the struggles and pride of the American working class, celebrating the resilience of blue-collar life while acknowledging its hardships. Solidifying his place as a voice for the common man, the song became an anthem for everyday folks who found dignity in hard work, and it went on to become a #1 hit for the Hag.

Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle is just the latest Willie Nelson project to pay homage to a fellow musician, and Willie has made quite the habit of tribute albums in the past handful of years alone. In the past decade or so, Willie has released albums dedicated to the music of Harlan Howard, Ray Price, George Gershwin and Rodney Crowell, in addition to two projects honoring the music of Frank Sinatra.

Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle Tracklist:

1. Workin’ Man Blues

2. Silver Wings

3. Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down

4. Today I Started Loving You Again

5. Swinging Doors

6. Okie From Muskogee

7. Mama Tried

8. I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink

9. Somewhere Between

10. If We Make It Through December

11. Ramblin’ Fever