Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Clint Eastwood Remember Merle Haggard

"He was my brother, my friend. I will miss him," writes Willie Nelson in a tweet, accompanied by a photo of himself sharing a laugh with the late Merle Haggard and a link to view their iconic "Pancho and Lefty" video. Nelson and Haggard were indeed as close as family, with their musical and personal bonds dating back to long before that first collaboration, and spanning through Haggard's death. Just last summer, the two country music treasures celebrated the Number One debut of their Django and Jimmie album.

"It's a mutual-admiration society with us," Nelson said last year. "Merle's one of the best. There's not anyone out there that can beat him."

Haggard once admitted a big crush on Dolly Parton, with whom he toured in 1974 and 1975. Their many collaborations include a few songs on Parton's own television show. "We've lost one of the greatest writers and singers of all time," says Parton. "His heart was as tender as his love ballads. I loved him like a brother. Rest easy, Merle."

Movie legend Clint Eastwood worked with Haggard on the 1980 Wild West film, Bronco Billy. The late singer contributed the song "Bar Room Buddies" to the movie's soundtrack. "We had a lot of fun in the recording studio," Eastwood tells Rolling Stone Country, "and the song even made it to Number One during that era. Merle will always be one of the greatest classic country artists of all time. He will be dearly missed."

Fellow Oscar winner Ron Howard acted alongside Haggard in the 1975 film, Huckleberry Finn. "He was a great communicator and a powerful performer," Howard tells Rolling Stone Country. "I remembered being very impressed with him. He was a huge star at that point. His controversies were known but behind him. He was very gracious. . . He was excited to be there since he didn’t consider himself an actor — he was learning as he went. There was a confidence and humility."

Tanya Tucker famously dated Haggard many, many years ago, and the two remained friends until his death. "I just can't imagine a world without Merle," says Tucker. "We played a lot of gigs together through the years, but some of my fondest memories were hanging out in a natural setting, like the time we sat there by the river in his backyard and ate bologna sandwiches. Merle was a simple man with incredible talent like no other. And now he’s up there singing with George [Jones] and all the angels."

Hank Williams, Jr., another friend and collaborator of the late legend, deems Haggard "an original." The two recorded a remake of the Hag's "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" in 2013. "He was your common everyday working man," says Williams. "I remember when I was 15 years old on tour with Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. They both were wondering which one of the two was going to make it. Well, they both made it. Today, ole Merle joined Waylon, George, and Daddy to sing in the Heavenly choir."

Clint Black co-wrote two songs with Haggard, "Untanglin' My Mind" and "The Kid." "I was lucky to have him as a special guest on my first headline tour and got to know my biggest musical hero up close," says Black. "It was a magical. He and I had a lot of hang time on my bus, which was too big a deal to have even been imagined for a bucket list. He was generous with the stories from his life and I could've sat across from him and listened for hours. . . There are no words to describe what his music and the time I had with him meant to me."

In 2006, Eric Church recruited the very inspiration behind his "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag" to join him on the song. Today, Church sent an email to his fans, containing simply these poignant lyrics:

Rest In Peace.
One of these days when my time has come
You can take me back to where I'm from
Put me on a westbound train
And ship me off in the pourin' rain
Don't cry for me when I'm gone
Just put a quarter in the jukebox and sing me back home and
Tip your hats and raise your glasses of cold cold beer
They say country's fading
But just keep waving that flag around here
And I know it'll keep on coming back
As long as people pledge allegiance
Where folks still pledge allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the Hag