Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 in Bakersfield, California) is an American country music singer and songwriter.

Country success

Upon his return, Haggard began performing again and soon began recording with Tally Records. His first song was "Skid Row", just as the Bakersfield Sound was developing in the area, as a reaction against the over-produced honky tonk of the Nashville Sound. In 1962, Haggard wound up performing at a Wynn Stewart show in Las Vegas and heard Wynn's "Sing a Sad Song". He asked for permission to record it, and the resulting single was a national hit in 1964.

Related Topics:
Tally Records - Nashville Sound - 1962 - Wynn Stewart - Las Vegas - 1964

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Haggard released a series of successful singles in the early 1960s, including "Just Between the Two of Us" (duet with Bonnie Owens) and "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers". He then signed to Capitol Records and released "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can" to limited sales. In 1966, however, his second Capitol single, "Swinging Doors", was a Top Five hit and Haggard had become a nationally known superstar. During the late 1960s, Haggard's chart success was consistent and impressive. "The Bottle Let Me Down", "The Fugitive", "Branded Man", "Mama Tried", "Sing Me Back Home", "Hungry Eyes," "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde", and "I Threw Away the Rose" are among the more well-remembered titles. "Mama Tried" and "Killer's Three Theme" sung by Merle were part of the soundtrack to the 1968 film Killers Three, which also included Haggard's acting debut.

Related Topics:
1960s - Bonnie Owens - Capitol Records - 1966 - Soundtrack - Killers Three

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In 1968, Haggard's first tribute LP ', was released to great acclaim.

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1969's apparent political statement, "Okie From Muskogee", was actually written as an abjectly humorous character portrait, a "documentation of the uneducated that lived in America at the time, and I mirror that. I always have. Staying in touch with the working class." (Phipps 2001) Later, Alabama Governor George Wallace asked Haggard for an endorsement which Haggard declined. However, Haggard does express sympathy with the "parochial" or conservative way of life expressed in "Okie" and songs such as "The Fightin' Side of Me" (ibid). It should be noted, however, that after "Okie" was released, Haggard wanted to release a self-penned song entitled "Irma Jackson" about an interracial couple; the single was quashed by his record company.

Related Topics:
1969 - Muskogee - George Wallace

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Regardless of exactly how they were intended, "Okie From Muskogee", "The Fightin' Side of Me", and "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" were hailed as anthems of the Silent Majority, and presaged a trend in patriotic songs that would reappear years later with Charlie Daniels' "In America", Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA", and others. But other Haggard songs were appreciated regardless of politics: the Grateful Dead began performing Haggard's tune "Mama Tried" in 1969 and it stayed in their regular repetoire thereafter.

Related Topics:
Silent Majority - Charlie Daniels - Lee Greenwood - God Bless the USA - Grateful Dead

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Haggard's next LP was A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or My Salute to Bob Wills), which helped spark a revival of swing music. In 1972, Governor Ronald Reagan gave Haggard a full pardon for his past crimes. Merle often brags that few figures in history can become public enemy number one and man of the year in the same ten year period.

Related Topics:
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or My Salute to Bob Wills) - Swing music - 1972 - Ronald Reagan

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During the early to mid 1970s, Haggard's chart domination continued with songs like "Someday We'll Look Back", "Carolyn", "Grandma Harp", "Always Wanting You" and "The Roots of My Raisin'". 1975's recession anthem "If We Make It Through December" cast Haggard back to being a champion of the working class.

Related Topics:
1970s - Recession

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In 1977, Haggard was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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