Workin' Man
Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle is the 78th solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. It was released on November 7, 2025, through Legacy Recordings. Produced by Nelson and Mickey Raphael, the album contains eleven songs by Nelson's late frequent collaborator Merle Haggard.
Background
Nelson had recorded four studio duet albums with Haggard, from the 1983 Pancho & Lefty to Haggard's final studio album Django and Jimmie in 2015. This album includes Nelson's last recordings with Bobbie Nelson and Paul English, both long-serving members of his Family Band.Mark Deming at AllMusic praised the performances of Nelson and the band's "in the moment" approach to the performances but noted that Nelson chose to interpret Haggard's most familiar songs.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.- Willie Nelson – vocals, Trigger, production
- Mickey Raphael – production, harmonica
- Billy English – drums, percussion
- Paul English – drums, percussion
- Kevin Smith – electric bass guitar, upright bass
- Bobbie Nelson – piano
- Steve Chadie – engineering
- Brando Marius – additional engineering
- Charlie Kramsky – engineering assistance
- Tony Castle – mixing (recorded music)|mixing]
- Andrew Mendelson – mastering
- Adam Battershell – mastering assistance
- Joey Salit – mastering assistance
- Luke Armentrout – mastering assistance
- Taylor Chadwick – mastering assistance