Merle Haggard + Willie Nelson Collaboration ‘Django and Jimmie’

I guess the old saying “you learn something new everyday” is true. I say this because, even as big of a fan as I am of Merle Haggard, I had NO idea about this little nugget of information until today.

Did y'all know that Merle could/would (should?) have been the fifth Highwayman?

(If you aren’t familiar with the country music super group that recorded and toured together during the 1980’s, do yourself a favor right this very second. Stop. Whatever it is that you are doing. IMMEDIATELY type “The Highwaymen” into the Google search bar. Now feast your ears upon the musical magic that is the collaboration of Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.)

Merle was recently interviewed on the syndicated radio show “Broadway’s Electric Barnyard.” During one segment he revealed that he was asked by the group to be a fifth member, but declined the offer because of the money.

He admitted, “I turned it down because I said, ‘Hell, it will cut the money down so the four of you guys won’t ever want to do it. But they did offer me a part.”

And I guess the rest is history.

While Merle didn’t team up to be an official part of The Highwaymen, he has re-joined another music legend and longtime friend Willie Nelson, Pancho and Lefty style for his latest project—the soon to be released, 14-track album titled Django and Jimmie. We won’t officially be available to add this record to our collections until June 2nd, but thanks to the magic of the internet you can give the entire album a listen now just by clicking HERE.