Jamey Johnson Releases Merle Haggard Cover on 89th Birthday

On what would have been Merle Haggard's 89th birthday, Jamey Johnson released a cover of Haggard's 2010 song "Pretty When It's New." Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys and recorded at The Moose Lodge, with T.W. Cargile serving as engineer, the track is available now via Warner Records Nashville.

Haggard, known as the "Poet of the Common Man," accumulated 38 No. 1 hits on the U.S. country charts with a reputation for gritty, honest songwriting that gave a voice to the working class. He won two GRAMMY Awards in 1984 and 1998 and received a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2010. Haggard was born on April 6, 1937, and died on his 79th birthday in 2016.

A Johnny Cash concert at San Quentin in 1960 proved a pivotal moment for the young Haggard, then serving time for burglary, inspiring him to pursue a career in music upon his release. That authenticity, born of a troubled early life, imprisonment, and hard-won redemption, came to define his songwriting and cemented his standing as a central pioneer of the Bakersfield sound.

Johnson and Haggard shared a bond that extended well beyond admiration. At the 2012 Ohio State Fair, Johnson joined Haggard on stage for "Long Black Veil" — a performance many described as a passing of the torch between two generations of outlaw-leaning country artists. Johnson also co-wrote "It's All Going to Pot" with Buddy Cannon and Larry Shell, recorded by Haggard and Willie Nelson for their 2015 album Django & Jimmie, and joined Haggard on "I Fall to Pieces" for Johnson's 2012 album Livin' for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran.

Johnson regularly performed Haggard's songs in concert, including "Mama Tried" and "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink." After Haggard's death, Johnson filled in on the nine dates Haggard had planned with Nelson. Fellow country artist Cody Johnson also marked the occasion, releasing a cover of Haggard's "Footlights" as part of a broader wave of tributes on the day.