In 1979, Haggard joined
Charlie Daniels and
Ernest Tubb on a remake of Tubb's "
Walking the Floor Over You," which became a minor hit that fall, and on
The Way I Am Haggard pays further tribute to the Texas legend by covering three more of his songs: "Take Me Back and Try Me One More Time," "I'll Always Be Glad to Take You Back," and "It's Been So Long, Darlin'." It also features a rendition of
Floyd Tillman's classic statement of romantic fatalism, "
It Makes No Difference Now." The LP's hit single was the
Sonny Throckmorton-penned title track, which reached #2 on the
Billboard country singles chart. Haggard, who wrote nearly all of his previous album
Serving 190 Proof, provides only four original compositions here, with David Cantwell commenting in his 2013 Haggard biography
The Running Kind, "Merle's songwriting ran hot and cold during his
MCA tenure, but his vocals were always nuanced and hauntingly melodic..." The album was produced by Haggard's longtime manager Fuzzy Owen, fellow country star
Porter Wagoner, and Don Gant, who had also worked with Haggard's hero
Lefty Frizzell. After recording this album, Haggard would score his first #1 hit since 1976's "Cherokee Maiden" with "
Bar Room Buddies," a duet he recorded with actor
Clint Eastwood for the soundtrack to the film
Bronco Billy. ==Critical reception==