Workin' Man
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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 (which yielded a #1 hit with the title track) 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.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
Workin' Man received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 84 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Mark Deming at AllMusic 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.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Workin' Man Blues" | Merle Haggard | 5:15 |
| 2. | "Silver Wings" | Haggard | 5:58 |
| 3. | "The Bottle Let Me Down" | Haggard | 2:47 |
| 4. | "Today I Started Loving You Again" | HaggardBonnie Owens | 3:24 |
| 5. | "Swinging Doors" | Haggard | 2:52 |
| 6. | "Okie from Muskogee" | HaggardRoy Edward Burris | 2:49 |
| 7. | "Mama Tried" | Haggard | 2:18 |
| 8. | "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" | Haggard | 3:30 |
| 9. | "Somewhere Between" | HaggardOwens | 3:03 |
| 10. | "If We Make It Through December" | Haggard | 3:30 |
| 11. | "Ramblin' Fever" | Haggard | 3:35 |
| Total length: | 39:01 |
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
- Andrew Mendelson – mastering
- Adam Battershell – mastering assistance
- Joey Salit – mastering assistance
- Luke Armentrout – mastering assistance
- Taylor Chadwick – mastering assistance
Charts
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) | 14 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 99 |
| UK Americana Albums (OCC) | 22 |
| UK Country Albums (OCC) | 1 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard) | 44 |