Sturgill Simpson Debuts Merle Haggard’s Final Recorded Song, “Red Headed Rounder”
The Willie Nelson tribute last Saturday night (1-12) wasn’t just your average run-through of the hits from a well-recognized cast. Multiple songs not heard before by the public were debuted, including a Willie Nelson tribute song co-written and performed by George Strait and Willie Nelson himself called “Sing One With Willie.” Sturgill Simpson also reached deep in the vault to debut the last song that Merle Haggard ever recorded, another Willie tribute called “Red Headed Rounder,” making a play off the name of Willie’s 1975 album that most consider the greatest country record of all time.
“It’s an honor to be here tonight. This is my first time ever playing the inside Bridgestone,” Sturgill Simpson said before launching into the song, making reference to his notorious busking set streamed on the internet during the 2017 CMA Awards. Then he launched into “Red Headed Rounder,” which Simpson said was written by Merle both for and about Willie.
Well now he sleeps all day, plays his cards all night
Smokes marijuana ’cause it treats him right
Well that Red Headed Rounder, he’s a friend of mine
Well that Red Headed Rounder has a good time all the time
According to Merle Haggard’s widow Theresa during a Merle Haggard tribute show at the Bridgestone in April of 2017, “[Merle] was in the studio right before he died. One of [the recordings] is a song about Willie, called ‘Red Headed Rounder.’ It’s going to be coming out soon. There are a lot of songs coming out in due time. He didn’t write a song he didn’t live. The songs that mean something are the ones you believe. That’s why it touches people, because it’s real. I witnessed it, where somebody higher than us would take the pen, and all of a sudden, he’d say, ‘Mama, get the pen,’ and within 5 minutes he had it all written.”
In May of 2015 before Merle Haggard passed away, he revealed that he had some 300 to 400 songs recorded and in a vault he called ‘The Archive.’ The idea was to begin releasing songs from it if or when Merle was unable to perform anymore, or if he passed away. “Red Headed Rounder” may have been the last song Merle ever recorded, but a song called “Kern River Blues” is attributed as last song he ever wrote. It was released a month after Haggard’s death.
Sturgill Simpson became very close with Merle in the twilight of Haggard’s career and life. Merle regularly praised Simpson, saying “I think he’s just about the brightest star around right now,” while hanging with Sturgill at the 2015 Stagecoach Festival in California. Haggard later said Sturgill was “about the only one that I can tell you I’m excited about. You hear a lot of Waylon [Jennings], a lot of George [Jones]. He’s got something going energy-wise that I haven’t seen in a long time.”
Sturgill returned the favor in August of 2016, slamming Garden & Gun Magazine and the ACM Awards for disrespecting Merle, saying in part, “If the ACM wants to actually celebrate the legacy and music of Merle Haggard, they should drop all the formulaic cannon fodder bullshit they’ve been pumping down rural America’s throat for the last 30 years along with all the high school pageantry, meat parade award show bullshit and start dedicating their programs to more actual Country Music.”
You can see amateur footage of Sturgill Simpson’s version of “Red Headed Rounder” below. The Willie Nelson tribute is set to air on A&E at some point later in 2019, and hopefully Merle’s studio version of “Red Headed Rounder” will see the light of day soon. Simpson also should be announcing his own new music soon. He’s said recently that a new album is finished, and has rumored it could be a double album.
January 15, 2019 @ 10:44 am
300-400 more songs performed by Merle Haggard in the vault? This is the best news I’ve heard in months.
January 15, 2019 @ 10:53 am
Loved this!!!
January 15, 2019 @ 11:05 am
that was awesome. good ole country music right there! i hope Sturgill’s new record is on the traditional country side of things
January 15, 2019 @ 12:15 pm
He said it wasn’t
January 15, 2019 @ 1:17 pm
dang! I will still check it out tho. I definitely prefer his traditional country sound
January 15, 2019 @ 6:14 pm
I hope it rocks like his live shows. Show some of the other influences besides country. Love how he incorporates that T-Rex song into his own Call to Arms.
January 15, 2019 @ 2:19 pm
Nope–but he did promise to make another country record. So maybe next time.
January 15, 2019 @ 11:07 am
Hot stuff! I’m glad he was a part of this.
January 15, 2019 @ 11:51 am
I guess we’ll have to wait for a recording to be able to make out the lyrics. I love sturgill but sometimes I wonder why he can’t enunciate a little more. Anyway, don’t anyone go assuming this is a harbinger of things to come in the new album. Based on sturg’s track record, that’s a good way to get your feelings hurt.
And is anyone else picking up a weird dichotomy from sturgill? His music strays further and further from country sonically, but he constantly is showing up at hard country events. It’s almost kind of insulting in a way. Anyway, like he has said before…he’s a “weird artist.”
January 15, 2019 @ 12:03 pm
Or just an artist. I don’t think anyone is going to get their feelings hurt if he doesn’t stick to hard country.
January 15, 2019 @ 12:12 pm
Sturgill said in an interview with Sarah Silverman recently that it (the new album) is not a country album.
January 15, 2019 @ 12:10 pm
Ealry last month on the “I Love America” show on Hulu he told Sarah Silverman that he had just got done recording the new album a week prior after taking all year to record it.
January 15, 2019 @ 12:57 pm
I love how he said it’s his first time playing INSIDE Bridgestone arena haha
January 15, 2019 @ 1:01 pm
Who’s in the band with Stu? Is that his regular band or was it a house band for the show?
January 15, 2019 @ 1:29 pm
That was an All-Star house band.
January 15, 2019 @ 6:42 pm
Jamey Johnson, Amanda Shires, Don Was, Paul Franklin. Mickey Raphael was there too. Not sure who else
January 15, 2019 @ 1:30 pm
Can’t make out what he is singing, I’ll wait for Merle’s version,
January 15, 2019 @ 1:45 pm
Sturg is just awesome. Would love for his new album to be traditional country but at the end of the day he just makes great music.
January 15, 2019 @ 2:17 pm
Gave up on living forever
Willie said, we’re all gonna die
So I sold all my music to Sony
Told all of my family goodbye
Went down to the edge of the water
And I took out my old .22
Willie came by, said it’s too soon to die
You’ve got a whole string of concerts to do
Well now he sleeps all day
Plays his cards all night
Smokes marijuana ’cause it treats him right
That red headed rounder, he’s a friend of mine
Oh that red headed rounder has a good time all the time
January 15, 2019 @ 3:24 pm
Awesome.
That dude needs to make another damn country album.
He can do all Merle covers, if that’s what piques his interest.
January 15, 2019 @ 3:29 pm
So nice to see him play country again, if only for 1 song!
January 15, 2019 @ 3:35 pm
Still a fan of Sturgill’s music. I think he’s going to regret only making 5 records. He’s got more to say than that. The next two won’t be “country” and I think he has a few true country records in him. But like he always said, Marty Robbins was a huge influence on him and no ones music ever changed as much as his.
January 15, 2019 @ 4:03 pm
Whatever direction his music goes next, I will be along for that ride.
January 15, 2019 @ 5:23 pm
It’s a crying shame they didn’t get somebody who could sing. Seriously, I’m so sick of this dude. Will he ever go away?
January 15, 2019 @ 6:47 pm
He sure needs someone to tell him to stay on the mic.
January 16, 2019 @ 9:18 am
Yes, Sturgill can sing with marble mouth, but I wouldn’t blame him in this particular instance if you can’t make out all the lyrics. This is one of the reasons I hate posting cell phone videos, and only do so if they’re culturally significant enough to justify. This video was taken from behind the main speakers. The video of George Strait singing is taken from that same angle, and you can barely understand what he’s singing either.
January 16, 2019 @ 1:30 pm
Idk, that’s a pretty good recording. The instrumentals sound crystal clear and a small portion of the lyrics are clearly audible at times. This is my one gripe about his vocals across all his records and performances. He goes in and out of being intelligible constantly. He had one lyric to sing with Stapleton on SNL and he sounded like wheezy bagpipes. Hasn’t vocal issues been a problem for him in the past back when he was touring like a maniac? I get the impression that he started going for a different vocal sound after all the comparisons to Waylon — which would fit into his personality of wanting to be unique.
January 16, 2019 @ 3:54 pm
He backs off the mic constantly. It looks either like he thinks he’ll overpower it, or that he wants to achieve some sorta unique in/out effect. Neither one works. It’s just bad.
January 15, 2019 @ 7:10 pm
Seriously? Everyone has got a right to there own opinion,but he’s widely considered the best vocalist in country currently.
January 15, 2019 @ 9:17 pm
I don’t even think his worshippers are stupid enough to call him a good singer. They usually praise his songwriting, which I also hate.
January 15, 2019 @ 10:13 pm
You know his name was in the title of the article right? Like you didn’t have to come here and read it if you didn’t want to. Nobody is forcing you to read articles about sturgill Simpson.
January 16, 2019 @ 6:16 pm
I know.
January 25, 2019 @ 9:53 am
So even his worshippers aren’t as stupid as me? Just cause my taste may run a little different than yours.Dude can sing in my opinion that’s technically and with feeling.
January 16, 2019 @ 7:36 am
By who? He might have the most iconic voice in country music right now but there sure as hell isn’t a general consensus that he’s the best singer.
January 15, 2019 @ 8:10 pm
It’s ok Cracker Jack, you can go ahead and admit that Sturgill is the man. One of the best to ever do it, no matter the genre.
January 16, 2019 @ 2:26 am
Don’t you have anything better to do my man?
January 16, 2019 @ 6:05 am
You emanate sadness.
January 16, 2019 @ 6:10 am
Technically, Honk:
Sturgill has more range and better dexterity than Merle, or Vince Gill
He’s a better singer by most technical measurements
January 16, 2019 @ 3:56 pm
Lol, Fuzz you killin’ me.
To me, Sturgill’s singing is like a cross between Waylon Jennings and Stevie Nicks.
January 16, 2019 @ 6:20 pm
You also claimed that Roy Clark is the single greatest act in C(c)ountry Music history, so you’re clearly prone to emotional outbursts.
January 17, 2019 @ 7:32 am
Honk, if you can find me a better act, one who has DEMONSTRATED an equal skill set and versatility, maybe I’ll respect your opinion
But you won’t, because there isn’t one.
blah blah all you want about other guitar players, but until you find me recordings/videos that demonstrate a superior ability then you’re wrong
There isn’t a greater Country flatpicker
isn’t, wasn’t and won’t be.
and Sturgill Simpson’s range is a measurable fact
I don’t do emotions Honk, I do facts
and the facts are that I’m right in this instance
January 17, 2019 @ 9:05 pm
Jimminy Glick had the greatest range in history, but that doesn’t make him a good singer. I don’t think Sturgill is horrible, but he is not the vocal god some make him out to be; especially on Sailor’s Guide.
January 19, 2019 @ 10:44 am
I don’t covet your respect, Fuzz. You’re a kid. I do like a lot of your comments though.
January 15, 2019 @ 7:53 pm
So when will those 300 to 400 Merle songs come out? Wow.
January 15, 2019 @ 10:19 pm
I love at the very end, someone off-camera, near the person recording, says, “Who is that person?” – presumably about Sturgill Simpson.
January 16, 2019 @ 6:18 am
Probably a clueless Music Row beancounter.
January 16, 2019 @ 9:20 am
lol, get that guy a “Who the fuck is Sturgill Simpson?” T-shirt.
January 16, 2019 @ 2:25 am
Good song. I always thought Kern River Blues was his final song, as the lyrics certainly imply it being a farewell tune. Gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it and still does to this day.
January 16, 2019 @ 9:15 am
“Kern River Blues” was the last song Merle Haggard ever wrote. “Red Headed Rounder” is the last song Merle ever recorded. Both Sturgill and Merle’s widow went out of their way to make that distinction, though it is kind of confusing.
January 16, 2019 @ 2:18 pm
Thanks for the clarification.
January 16, 2019 @ 8:41 am
I read somewhere (maybe here) his next release will be a double album. Anyone heard anything about a release date or anything at all about his next release?
January 16, 2019 @ 9:11 am
Nothing concrete yet. I would expect to hear something definitive by this spring.
January 16, 2019 @ 10:30 am
Sturgill haters kill me.
The guy shook things up in country.
Respects the greats and the music of the past
Supports a lot of great current artists.
This was a cool song to do at a tribute.
Saw this after I checked out this:
Sturgill Simpson Radio City Music hall Acoustic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrP7UnuafME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soJohsEO0io
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fky8ijkTGOQ
January 17, 2019 @ 8:41 am
That was awesome.
January 22, 2019 @ 7:39 am
I miss Laur.