Freddy Powers, a longtime songwriting partner of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, died Tuesday after a 12-year-long�fight with Parkinson�s disease. He was 84 years old.

Powers co-wrote many of Haggard�s No. 1 hits, including �Let�s Chase Each Other Around the Room� and �Natural High.� He also co-produced�Willie Nelson�s platinum-selling 1981 album �Somewhere Over the Rainbow.�

Here he is with both of them at Austin City Limits in 1984:

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Powers was Haggard�s rhythm guitarist for more than 20 years. He even lived with Haggard for a time in California, where the two of them took up�residence on houseboats on�Lake Shasta, partying and writing songs. One of the results of this period was Haggard�s��A Friend in�California.�

Powers was diagnosed with Parkinson�s disease in 2004. After his diagnosis, he �started the�Freddy Powers Parkinson Organization, which gives financial support to Texans who are also�dealing with the disease.

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