Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle is the 78th solo studio album by American singer-songwriterWillie Nelson. It was released on November 7, 2025, throughLegacy Recordings.[1] Produced by Nelson and Mickey Raphael, the album contains eleven songs by Nelson's late frequent collaboratorMerle Haggard.[2]
Nelson had recorded four studio duet albums with Haggard, from the 1983Pancho & Lefty (which yielded a #1 hit withthe title track) to Haggard's final studio albumDjango and Jimmie in 2015. This album includes Nelson's last recordings withBobbie Nelson andPaul English, both long-serving members of his Family Band.[3]
Mark Deming atAllMusic praised the performances of Nelson and the band's "in the moment" approach to the performances (including studio chatter and ad-libs) but noted that Nelson chose to interpret Haggard's most familiar songs.[4]
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