They did it all together. Willie Nelson is gearing up to release his 78th career solo studio album (the 155th of his career in total), and this current project will pay tribute to another country music legend, Willie’s friend, the late, great Merle Haggard. Titled Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle, the album is set to drop soon, on Friday, November 7th, and features 11 country classics penned by the Hag himself. Of course, the two of them put out several projects together during their careers, including their iconic Pancho and Lefty in 1983, Seashores of Old Mexico in 1987, Last of the Breed also in 1987, and lastly, Django and Jimmie in 2015. They were close friends, and in a Rolling Stone article from 2016, following his death around a week prior in April, Willie wrote about their friendship and how much Merle meant to him. They were friends for over 50 years, and first met in Nashville in the early 60’s, of course, during a poker game at Willie’s house. This was before either of them went back home, Merle to Bakersfield and Willie to Texas, and they had an instant connection: “Merle and I were buddies from way back. I first met him at a poker game at my house in Nashville in the early Sixties, before he went back to Bakersfield and I went back to Texas. We always had a lot in common. We both hopped trains as kids. We both got our starts playing bass in other bands before stepping out on our own. We’d both been married for the last 20 years. We both had our sons playing guitar with us. Over the years, we played a lot of dates, a lot of poker. He was a great audience for my jokes. I told him recently, ‘You know what you call a guitar player without a girlfriend? Homeless,’ and he laughed.” Willie recalled recording Pancho and Lefty in 1983, when Merle visited Austin, and they recorded their iconic song. There’s a great story behind it, which you can read about HERE, but possibly the most interesting part of the article is Willie talking about how they tried to be healthy in the midst of all the drinking, smoking and debauchery. In fact, they would “burn one down” and run two miles in their cowboy boots, and also did a “10-day cayenne-pepper juice cleanse,” which Willie called “horrible,” obviously: “In the early Eighties, he came to stay with me in Texas to record. We were living pretty hard back then, but we’d also try to be a little healthy. We used to go jogging a lot. We’d burn one down and run two miles in cowboy boots. In Texas, we went on a 10-day cayenne-pepper juice cleanse. It was horrible. One day after we’d been up all night, Merle went to the condo to get some rest. Around 4 a.m., we woke him up to sing his part on ‘Pancho and Lefty.’ He sang it half in his sleep, but Hag sings pretty good in his sleep.” Only those two… I’m actually impressed they made it through all ten days doing that, though, and would absolutely LOVED to have seen them running those two miles through Texas in their cowboy boots… what a visual. Willie also went onto say that he deeply admired Merle, and the fact that he scored so many “Number One songs.” “I always had a lot of admiration for him. He came onto the scene with a bang. He wrote more Number One songs than me, Kris [Kristofferson], anybody. He was a great one to follow. He was able to talk about his life in his songs intelligently and ingeniously, really.” While it’s sad Merle is no longer around to hear Willie’s take on his classic music, it’s so cool to see how much he still means to Willie so many years after his passing. They lived a ton of life together, and accomplished more than either one of them had likely ever dreamed of, and I will never get tired of hearing them tell stories about everything they did together outside of music (especially the not-so-legal stuff). They were two peas in a pod, and two absolute legends, who will both go down as two of the best to ever do it. You can listen to “Somewhere Between” here: “Somewhere Between” “Workin’ Man Blues” 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’ FeverThe post Willie Nelson Recalls Running For Miles (In Boots) Through Texas With Merle Haggard, Then Doing A 10-Day Cayenne Pepper Juice Cleanse: “It Was Horrible” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.