Willie Nelson Remembers His ‘Brother’ Merle Haggard
Willie Nelson paid tribute to his good friend and frequent singing partner Merle Haggard on Facebook Wednesday afternoon. A simple photo and link to a video was enough to say what one legend wanted to say of another.
Haggard died on Wednesday morning (April 6) after a stay in hospice. He’d been having health issues since December, canceling all shows but one in the months since. Many of those performances were to be with Nelson, as the two just recorded and released the Django & Jimmie album together.
It was not their first collaborate album together. Their first and most famous is 1983’s Pancho & Lefty, a project that was a big commercial success. Nelson linked to a music video of the song in his Facebook post acknowledging Haggard's death. Under a more modern photo of the two, he wrote, “He was my brother, my friend. I will miss him.”
Stars from all corners of the country took to Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere to talk about Haggard and his legacy. Tanya Tucker, Lorrie Morgan and the Oak Ridge Boys are just a few. Dolly Parton shared a few poignant words through her publicist:
We've lost one of the greatest writers and singers of all time. His heart was as tender as his love ballads. I loved him like a brother. Rest easy, Merle.
Haggard died in Palo Cedro Calif. on Wednesday (April 6), his 79th birthday. His son Ben later shared that his father predicted he’d die on that day.
Artists React to Merle Haggard's Death