Merle Haggard’s death on his 79th birthday Wednesday elicited many heartfelt reactions from his friends, family and the country music community at large.
(Article by Jake Harris, republished from http://music.blog.austin360.com/2016/04/08/watch-bruce-robisons-tribute-to-merle-haggard/)
Austin singer-songwriter Bruce Robison was no different.
Bruce Robison sings a tribute cover of Merle Haggard’s “Today I Started Loving You Again.” (Vimeo Screenshot.)
In a video released Thursday, Robison, accompanied by his wife and frequent collaborator Kelly Willis, sings a heartfelt rendition of Haggard’s 1968 ballad “Today I Started Loving You Again.” The song originally failed to chart, as it was a B-side to Haggard’s No. 1 “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde.”
It’s since become a country music standard, and Robison is just one of many artists to cover the song, including Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Bobby Bland.
Robison wrote on his Facebook page that he and Willis were already in the studio recording another song when they heard Haggard had died. They decided to pay their respects right then and there.
“We were so moved by the news and in just the right situation to record a tribute to Merle that we had to take pause & do Today I Started Loving You Again,” Robison wrote. “May he rest in peace.”
See the video below, and if you want to see Robison in person, he’s playing at Threadgill’s tonight at 8.
