On This Day in 1983, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard Were at No. 1 With an Album That Put the Spotlight on a Texas Legend

On this day (September 16) in 1983, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard were at No. 1 on the country albums chart with Pancho & Lefty. It spent eight nonconsecutive weeks in the top spot and broke into the top 40 of the all-genre Billboard 200. The album’s title track, which also went to No. 1, was penned by Townes Van Zandt. Haggard and Nelson’s cover of the song helped introduce him to the mainstream country music audience.

This wasn’t the first time a popular artist covered one of Van Zandt’s songs. Emmylou Harris recorded several of his songs, including “Pancho & Lefty.” Her rendition appears on her classic 1977 album Luxury Liner. Then, in 1981, she and Don Williams turned “If I Needed You” into a duet. However, the title track from Nelson and Haggard’s first collaborative album was the most commercially successful cover of his work.

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“Pancho & Lefty” Tied the Album Together

Townes Van Zandt originally released “Pancho & Lefty” on his 1972 album The Late, Great Townes Van Zandt. Five years later, Emmylou Harris put her spin on it. Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson first heard her version of the song while working on their collaborative album.

They had finished most of the album, but didn’t feel like they had recorded a hit single. Then, Nelson’s daughter suggested that they listen to “Pancho & Lefty.” Neither Haggard nor Nelson had ever heard the song. So, she left and returned with a copy of Luxury Liner.

Nelson wanted to record the song immediately after hearing it. Unfortunately for Haggard–who had already called it a night–it was nearly four in the morning. “I’d been asleep about an hour, and I was just completely bushed,” Haggard recalled. “I couldn’t get my bearings, and he had this song, and it seemed like it was half a mile long. It had more words than any song I’ve ever seen in my life,” he added.

Haggard told Nelson he’d learn his part and they could record it in the morning. Nelson was adamant that they needed to cut the song right then. After laying down his vocals, he believed that he’d be back in the studio in a few hours to record a second take. That wasn’t the case, though.

Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard’s cover of “Pancho & Lefty” went to No. 1 and was among the top 10 on Billboard’s year-end country chart. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020.

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