Willie Nelson’s Latest Studio Album, Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle Out Today via Legacy Recordings

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, released Willie Nelson’s new studio album Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle in all configurations. The album is available digitally, on CD and as a single LP black vinyl release and may be streamed or ordered HERE.

Also announced today were the nominations for the 2026 GRAMMYS and Nelson received two nominations for two separate albums: Oh What A Beautiful World, an album of Rodney Crowell compositions produced by longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, was nominated for Best Traditional Country Album, while Last Leaf On The Tree, produced by Willie’s son Micah Nelson, was nominated for Best Americana Album. Both albums were executive produced by Nelson’s longtime manager Mark Rothbaum. These new nods bring Willie’s all-time total to 59 Grammy nominations in his career. 

Workin’ Man (his 155th album, according to Texas Monthly’s interactive All Willie Nelson Albums Ranked list and 78^th solo studio album) premieres Willie’s new interpretations of 11 classic songs written by Merle Haggard,the latest in Nelson’s storied history of focusing entire albums on a single songwriter’s or artist’s work. Eleven of Willie’s favorite Merle compositions were handpicked for the album. Produced by the artist with longtime collaborator Mickey Raphael, the album was recorded at Nelson’s Pedernales Studios in Austin and features the final recordings he did alongside longtime Family band members, his sister Bobbie Nelson and Paul English. Constants in Nelson’s personal and professional world longer than anyone, Bobbie on piano and English on drums are joined by Raphael on harmonica, Kevin Smith on bass and Paul’s brother Billy English on drums and percussion.

Willie Nelson – Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle

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’ Fever

ABOUT WILLIE NELSON’S OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD

LISTEN HERE

Oh What A Beautiful World is an album that focuses on the songs of Rodney Crowell, the latest in Nelson’s storied history of focusing entire albums on a single songwriter’s work. Willie Nelson and Rodney Crowell are two Texas singer-songwriters whose careers have intersected often since Crowell first heard Nelson’s earliest songs on the radio and saw his shows in Houston in the mid-1960s. Willie first recorded a Rodney Crowell song in 1983 and last did so 40 years later for 2024’s The Border. Produced by Nelson’s longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon and featuring an amazing backing band of Nashville gunslingers accompanying Nelson’s vocals and inspired guitar work on Trigger, the album handpicks 12 songs from the last 50 years, including the title track as a duet between Nelson and Crowell. From early tracks like 1976’s “Banks Of The Old Bandera” (recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker) and 1981’s “Shame On The Moon” (a hit for Bob Seger) to 90s tracks like “What Kind Of Love,“ (co-written by Will Jennings based on a Roy Orbison melody), “Stuff That Works” (co-written with Guy Clark), from early 2000’s cuts written for hit albums by Keith Urban and Tim McGraw to four cuts from Crowell’s beloved 2010s albums and a cut released as recently as 2021.

ABOUT WILLIE NELSON’S LAST LEAF ON THE TREE

LISTEN HERE

Over Willie Nelson’s career he has tackled songs from across the world of music, making each his own and for Last Leaf On The Tree, Willie turned his gaze to a collection of songs by rock legends, idiosyncratic singer songwriters, altrock heroes and indie folk artists. The result is a gorgeously cohesive rumination on loss, love and world-weary hope, perfectly complemented by spare and spooky musical production. Lovingly curated and produced by his son Micah Nelson, Last Leaf On The Tree finds Willie covering songs from moody indie rock (Beck), psych alt-pop (The Flaming Lips) and punk-informed folk (Sunny War, Micah’s Particle Kid) to thought-provoking soul jazz (Nina Simone) and lesser known gems from legends like Tom Waits, Neil Young, Keith Richards and Warren Zevon. In addition, the album features new takes on one of Willie’s oldest songs (“The Ghost” from 1962) plus a new one penned with Micah (“The Color Of Sound”) that joins Willie’s collection of Zen-soaked classics. In addition to producing, Micah Nelson plays many of the instruments and even designed the album cover. He is joined by a host of celebrated musicians plus guest spots from legendary producer and musician Daniel Lanois, John Densmore of The Doors and harmonica master Mickey Raphael, who has played alongside Willie for over 50 years.