Joe Nichols Gets ‘Tip of the Hat’ From Merle Haggard

Joe Nichols has had his share of career highlights, but most recently, the singer got to do what he does best in front of a living legend. "I sang 'Okie from Muskogee' for Merle Haggard last year when the ACM honored Merle," Joe tells The Boot. "They honored him with an award and asked me to sing that song. It was awesome. It was a great night."

Leading up to that night, Joe and Merle had met several times before, but after seeing Joe's rendition of 'Okie from Muskogee,' Merle was beyond touched. "We talked about working together a little bit sometime in the future," Joe beams. "He gave me the tip of the hat that day. It was really cool. That was a huge honor."

Joe recently was honored in another way when he scored another multi-week chart-topping hit with 'Gimmie That Girl.' His latest single, 'The Shape I'm In,' was penned by the same writing trio as 'Gimmie That Girl,' Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip.

Joe hopes his new single will have the same kind of mojo on the charts. "I'd just like to continue doing what we're doing which is making good records or what we feel like are good records," Joe says. "I'd like to continue giving the fans what they want and what radio will play. Let's have another No. 1 song!"