Remember When George Jones and Merle Haggard Covered a Willie Nelson Classic in 1982?

In 1971, Willie Nelson released “Yesterday’s Wine”. The song, the title track of a record Nelson also released that same year, was written solely by Nelson. 

When Nelson released “Yesterday’s Wine”, it didn’t do much for him on the radio, failing to even crack the Top 40. To be fair, Nelson didn’t have a lot of radio hits in the early 1970s, with no Top 20 singles from 1970 to 1974. But in 1973, Nelson had a hit with “Bloody Mary Morning”. One year later, Nelson had his first No. 1 with “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”.

So it stands to reason that Nelson would be happy to let another artist record “Yesterday’s Wine”. But instead of just one artist cutting Nelson’s song, two superstars, George Jones and Merle Haggard, combined their talents on the track, making it a No. 1 single.

Jones’s and Haggard’s take on “Yesterday’s Wine” is part of A Taste Of Yesterday’s Wine, an entire album of duets. The record and single were both released in 1982.

“Yesterday’s Wine” says in part, “Yesterday’s wine / I’m yesterday’s wine / Aging with time / Like yesterday’s wine / Yesterday’s wine / We’re yesterday’s wine / Aging with time / Like yesterday’s wine.” The song is the only No. 1 single from their joint record. They also released “C.C. Waterbuck”, which reached the Top 10 on the country chart.

The Success of “Yesterday’s Wine” by George Jones and Merle Haggard

It’s interesting that Jones and Haggard released A Taste Of Yesterday’s Wine when they did. One year later, in 1983, Haggard and Nelson teamed up for Pancho & Lefty, a pivotal album for both of them. “Reasons To Quit” became a Top 10 single for the pair, while the title track became a No. 1 single.

In 1983, Jones and Haggard won a CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year. A Taste Of Yesterday’s Wine also includes “After I Sing All My Songs” by Leona Williams, “I Haven’t Found Her Yet”, written by Haggard and Johnny Paycheck, and a joint take on Jones’s “No Show Jones”, which he wrote with Glenn Martin.

Jones and Haggard had success with “Yesterday’s Wine”, but they aren’t the only ones to put their spin on this Nelson tune. In 2009, Jones released another version of “Yesterday’s Wine”, this time with Jamey Johnson and Blackberry Smoke. Jones and Blackberry Smoke’s lead singer, Charlie Starr, sang “Yesterday’s Wine” together in 2009, at what would become Jones’s final Ryman Auditorium concert.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns