Bonnie “Prince” Billy (otherwise known as Will Oldham) was a serious fan of legendary, genre-defining country singer-songwriter Merle Haggard, who passed away last year. Oldham released a cover of Haggard’s “Because of Your Eyes” on 2011’s Haggard Harper Bonnie 7″, and interviewed him for the late Filter magazine in 2009. (His Twitter cover photo, also, is him with Merle.) Now, according to a statement from Drag City, Oldham is preparing a double-album of covers of Haggard songs, spanning the Bakersfield icon’s over-half-a-century-long career, entitled Dear Troubadour. It’s due out May 5.
Drag City has shared a 360 “VR” video for Oldham’s version of one of Haggard’s most famous songs, “Mama Tried,” which you can watch below. Check out the full track listing, and preorder the album here.
