Osborne burns with "White Line Fever"

Producer Alison Brown said the track grew out of a recording session she gave Osborne for his 89th birthday in December. She thought the country classic would make a great bluegrass tune. To augment the rearrangement of Haggard's story of life on the road, Brown and co-producer Garry West asked Wilco's Jeff Tweedy to craft a new verse reflecting on Osborne's 60-plus year career.

Players on the track included Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Trey Hensley (guitar, harmony vocals), Sierra Hull (mandolin), Tim O'Brien (harmony vocals), Todd Phillips (bass) and Brown on banjo.

Osborne told The Bluegrass Situation, "When I first heard 'White Line Fever,' it was a ballad-type song. When Alison discussed it with me, she said she wanted to do it in a bluegrass style. It's a great song, and I enjoyed recording this version for Compass Records."

Brown said, "Merle Haggard cut 'White Line Fever' in late 1960s with a country feel, but it always seemed to me that it would make a great bluegrass song. With Bobby's incomparable vocals, and the addition of Jeff Tweedy's new lyrics about Bobby's Kentucky roots and Ohio ties, I think this version of 'White Line Fever' ticks every box for a bluegrass classic."