Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's 1983 cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty" is among 26 new inductees into the Grammy Hall of Fame for recordings.
The song appears on the album of the same name, Pancho & Lefty. Both the single and album topped the country charts, and the album crossed over to No. 37 on the Top 200.
Merle Haggard And Willie Nelson (image via Still Is Still Moving)
"Pancho and Lefty" was the last song recorded for the album. Nelson felt it needed a hit song and his daughter Lana recommmeded it. It's about a Mexican bandit, Pancho, who's betrayed by the mysterious Lefty.
The lyrics go, in part:
The day they laid poor Pancho low, Lefty split for Ohio Where he got the bread to go, there ain't nobody knows
All the Federales say, they could've had him any day They only let him slip away, out of kindness I suppose
• "On the Road Again" (1980 single) - inducted in 2011
• "Always on My Mind" (1982 single) - inducted in 2008
"Crazy," which Nelson wrote and Patsy Cline recorded in 1961 and had a No. 9 hit with, is also an inductee.
There are a total a total of 1,140 songs in the Hall of Fame, which began in 1973. The criteria is "recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old."
