In 1970, Haggard released "A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)", rounding up six of the remaining members of the Texas Playboys to record the tribute: Johnnie Lee Wills, Eldon Shamblin, Tiny Moore, Joe Holley, Johnny Gimble, and Alex Brashear. Merle's band, The Strangers, were also present during the recording, but Wills suffered a massive stroke after the first day of recording. Merle arrived on the second day, devastated that he would not get to record with him, but the album helped return Wills to public consciousness, and set off a Western swing revival. Haggard did other tribute albums to Bob Wills over the next 40 years. In 1973 he appeared on "For the Last Time: Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys". In 1994, Haggard collaborated with Asleep at the Wheel and many other artists influenced by the music of Bob Wills on an album entitled "A Tribute To The Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys". "A Tribute" was re-released on CD on the Koch label in 1995.