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June 30 Merle Haggard
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As a performer and a
songwriter, Merle Haggard was the most important
country artist to emerge in the 1960s.
Haggard became one of the leading figures of the
Bakersfield country scene in the '60s. While his
music remained hardcore country, he pushed the
boundaries of the music quite far. Like his idol Bob
Wills, his music was a melting pot that drew from
all forms of traditional American music -- country,
jazz, blues, and folk -- and in the process,
developed a distinctive style of his own. As a
performer, singer, and musician, he was one of the
best, influencing countless other artists. Not
coincidentally, he was the best singer/songwriter in
country music since Hank Williams, writing a body of
songs that became classics. Throughout his career,
Haggard has been a champion of the working man,
largely due to his rough and tumble history.
It's impossible to separate Haggard's music from his life. He was born to James and Flossie Haggard on April 6, 1937. His parents moved from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression, converting an old boxcar into a home. Before their marriage, James played fiddle in local honky tonk bars. Flossie was a member of the Church of Christ, which led to her forcing her husband to stop playing the honky tonks. James died from a brain tumor when Merle was nine years old. After his father's death, Merle became rebellious. In an attempt to straighten her son out, his mother put him in several juvenile detention centers, but it had little effect on Merle's behavior. As a teenager, he fell in love with country music, particularly Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, and Hank Williams. When he was 12 years old, Haggard was given his first guitar by his older brother; Merle taught himself how to play by listening to records that were lying around the house.
Even though he had begun to pursue music, Haggard
continued to rebel, running away with his friend Bob
Teague to Texas when he was 14 years old. A few
months later, the pair returned to California, where
they were arrested as robbery suspects. After the
real thieves were caught, Haggard was sent back to
juvenile hall, but he and Teague took off to
Modesto, CA. For a brief time, he did manual labor,
was a short-order cook, drove a truck, and committed
a series of small crimes. Soon after he moved to
Modesto, Haggard made his performing debut with
Teague at a bar named the Fun Center; the two were
paid five dollars and given all the beer that they
could drink.
By the end of 1951, Haggard had returned home and he
was again arrested for truancy, as well as petty
larceny. In the beginning of 1952, he was sent to
Fred C. Nelles School for Boys in Whittier, CA;
again, he ran away. This time, the courts decided he
was incorrigible and sent him to the high-security
Preston School of Industry; he was released after 15
months. Shortly after his release, he and a boy he
met at PSI beat up a local boy during an attempted
robbery, and Haggard was sent back to PSI.
After getting out of PSI for the second time,
Haggard had the first major event in his musical
career. He went with Teague to see Lefty Frizzell in
concert in Bakersfield. Before the show, he went
backstage with several friends and he sang a couple
songs for Frizzell. Lefty was so impressed he
refused to go on-stage until Haggard was allowed to
sing a song. Merle went out and sang a few songs to
an enthusiastic response from the audience.
The reception persuaded Haggard to actively pursue a
musical career. While he was working during the day
in oil fields and farms, he performed at local
Bakersfield clubs. His performances led to a spot on
a local television show, Chuck Wagon. In 1956, he
married Leona Hobbs; the couple moved into his
family's old converted boxcar. Throughout 1957,
Haggard was plagued by financial problems, which
made him turn to robbery. At the end of the year, he
attempted to rob a restaurant along with two other
burglars; the three were drunk at the time.
Believing it was three o'clock in the morning, the
trio tried to open up the back door of the
restaurant. However, it was 10:30 and the
establishment was still open. Although the trio fled
the scene, Haggard was arrested that day. The
following day, he escaped from prison in order to
make peace with his wife and family; later that day,
he was recaptured. Haggard was sentenced to a
15-year term and sent to San Quentin prison.
Prison didn't immediately lead Merle into
rehabilitation. He was fired from a series of prison
jobs and planned an escape from the jail, but was
talked out of it by fellow inmates. Nearly two years
into his sentence, Haggard discovered that his wife
was pregnant with another man's child. The news sent
Haggard over the edge. Soon, he and his cellmate
began a gambling racket and brewing beer in their
cell. Before long, Haggard was caught drunk and was
placed in isolation for a week. During his time in
isolation, he had several conversations with Caryl
Chessman, an author and a member of death row. The
conversations and the time in isolation convinced
Haggard to turn his life around. After he left
isolation, he began working in the prison's textile
plant and took some high school equivalency courses;
he was also allowed to play in the prison's country
band. At his second parole hearing in 1960, Haggard
was given a five-year sentence -- two years and nine
months in jail, two years and three months on
parole; he left prison 90 days later.
Merle moved back in with Leona and returned to
manual labor. In the meantime, he sang at local
clubs at night. After taking second place at a local
talent contest, Haggard was asked to become a relief
singer for a band led by Johnny Barnett at one of
the most popular Bakersfield clubs, Lucky Spot.
Soon, Merle was making enough money playing music he
could quit his ditch-digging job. While he singing
with Barnett, he gained the attention of Fuzzy Owen,
who owned the small record label Tally Records. Owen
and his cousin Lewis Talley were instrumental in
establishing Haggard's musical career. Owen made the
first recording of Haggard, cutting a demo version
of one of the singer's first songs, "Skid Row."
Shortly after the recording, Haggard called Talley,
who had praised him earlier in his career. Talley
was able to land Haggard a job at Paul's Cocktail
Lounge, which led to a slot on a local music
television show.
During this time,
Bakersfield country was beginning to become a
national scene, largely due to the hit singles of
Buck Owens. At a time when mainstream country was
dominated by the lush, smooth countrypolitan sound
of Nashville, Bakersfield country grew out of
hardcore honky tonk, adding elements of Western
swing. Bakersfield country also relied on electric
instruments and amplification more than other
subgenres of country, giving the music hard,
driving, edgy flavor. During the late '50s, Tommy
Collins and Wynn Stewart were two of the Bakersfield
artists to have hits, and both were influential on
Merle Haggard's career, musically as well as
professionally. Haggard had admired Stewart's vocal
style, and it helped shape his phrasing.
Early in 1962, Haggard traveled to Las Vegas to see Wynn Stewart's club show. Stewart was not at the club, having left to find a replacement bass player. During the show, one of Stewart's guitarists remembered Haggard and invited him to sing a couple of songs on-stage. Stewart walked in while Haggard was singing and was impressed, asking him to join his band as a bassist. For six months in 1962 and 1963, Merle performed with Stewart's band. During this time, Haggard heard Wynn's song "Sing a Sad Song" and asked the star if he could record it. Stewart gave him the song and Merle recorded it for Tally Records in 1963. Although Tally had minimal distribution, the record became a national hit, climbing to number 19 on the country charts early in 1964.
"Sam Hill," Haggard's second single, wasn't as
successful, but a duet with Bonnie Owens, the former
wife of Buck Owens, called "Just Between the Two of
Us," broke into the Top 40. The next year, his
version of Liz Anderson's "(My Friends Are Gonna Be)
Strangers" broke him into the Top Ten and
established him as a budding star. Capitol Records
bought out his contract with Tally and Merle
released "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can," his
first single for Capitol, in the fall of 1965. The
single wasn't a success, scratching into the Top 50,
but his next single, "Swinging Doors," was a smash
hit, rocketing to number five in the spring of 1966.
Late in 1965, Haggard began recruiting a backing
band and named them the Strangers.
Haggard became a genuine country superstar in 1966,
with three Top Ten hits, including "Swinging Doors."
"The Bottle Let Me Down" climbed to number three and
"The Fugitive" (later retitled "I'm a Lonesome
Fugitive") became his first number one. He was voted
the Top Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country
Music Awards, while he and Bonnie were named the Top
Vocal Group for the second year in a row.
Haggard's songwriting was beginning to blossom and
audiences embraced his music, sending his "I Threw
Away the Rose" to number three early in 1967,
beginning a remarkable streak of 37 straight Top Ten
hits, including 23 number one singles. "I Threw Away
the Rose" was followed by four straight number one
hits -- "Branded Man," "Sing Me Back Home," "The
Legend of Bonnie and Clyde," and "Mama Tried," which
was heard in Killers Three, a movie that featured
Haggard's debut as an actor. With the exception of
"Bonnie and Clyde," the songs represented a change
in Haggard's songwriting, as he began to directly
address his troubled history. By 1970, he was
talking about his time in San Quentin in the press,
yet these songs represented the first time he had
mentioned his past directly. Each single was a
bigger hit than the previous song, which encouraged
Haggard to continue writing in a more personal
style.
Throughout 1968, Haggard's star continued to rise,
with two number one hits ("Bonnie and Clyde," "Mama
Tried") and the number three "I Take a Lot of Pride
in What I Am," as well as four albums. Later that
year, he recorded his first conceptual album, Same
Train, a Different Time. Released in early 1969, the
record was not only an affectionate salute to one of
Haggard's heroes, it reflected a fascination with
American history and a desire to expand his music by
adding stronger elements of Western swing, jazz, and
blues.
Merle released three singles in 1969 -- "Hungry
Eyes," "Workin' Man Blues," and "Okie from Muskogee"
-- and all three reached number one. In particular,
"Okie from Muskogee" sparked a tremendous amount of
attention. An attack on the liberal hippies who
represented American pop culture in the late '60s,
the song struck a chord in audiences across the
country, just missing the pop Top 40. Because of the
song, Haggard was asked to endorse George Wallace,
but he refused. "Okie from Muskogee" cemented the
singer's stardom, and he won a large amount of
awards in 1969 and 1970. In both years, he was named
the Top Male Vocalist by the ACM and the Strangers
were voted the best band, while the new Country
Music Association voted him Entertainer of the Year
and Top Male Vocalist in 1970.
Haggard released a sequel to "Okie" called "The
Fightin' Side of Me" at the beginning of 1970, and
it also shot to number one. That year, he released A
Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World
(Or My Salute to Bob Wills), which helped spark a
revival of Western swing in the '70s. Throughout
1971 and 1972, the hits kept coming, including
"Soldier's Last Letter," "Someday We'll Look Back,"
"Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)," "Carolyn," "Grandma
Harp," "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)," and "I
Wonder If They Ever Think of Me." In 1972, the
governor of California, Ronald Reagan, granted
Haggard a full pardon. The following year, his hit
streak continued, and he scored his biggest hit, "If
We Make It Through December," which peaked at number
28 on the pop charts. As his reign on the top of the
country charts continued in 1974, he played on Bob
Wills' last album, For the Last Time. Wills died in
1975, leaving Merle his fiddle.
Haggard stayed with Capitol Records until 1977, and
never once did his grip on the American audience
slip during his tenure there. During his time on MCA
afterward, he continued to have a number of hits,
but his work was becoming slightly inconsistent. His
first two singles for the record label, "If We're
Not Back in Love by Monday" and "Ramblin' Fever,"
hit number two and he continued to have hits with
the label throughout the end of the decade and the
first part of the '80s. "I'm Always on a Mountain
When I Fall" and "It's Been a Great Afternoon" were
number two hits in 1978. In 1979, he only had two
hits, while in 1980, two selections from the Clint
Eastwood movie Bronco Billy reached the Top Three,
"The Way I Am" and "Misery and Gin"; Haggard also
appeared in the film. The two hits paved the way for
his two biggest singles with MCA, the number one
duet with Eastwood "Bar Room Buddies" and the number
one "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink." Early
in 1981, Haggard had a Top Ten hit with "Leonard," a
tribute to his old friend Tommy Collins.
Later that year, Haggard published his
autobiography, Sing Me Back Home; he also left MCA
and signed with Epic Records. Once he began
recording for Epic, he began producing his own
records, which gave the music a leaner sound. His
first two singles for the label, "My Favorite
Memory" and "Big City," were number one hits. The
following year, he released a duet album with George
Jones, called A Taste of Yesterday's Wine, which
featured the number one single "Yesterday's Wine"
and the Top Ten "C.C. Waterback." From 1983 until
the beginning of 1985, Haggard continued to score
number one hits, including the number one duet with
Willie Nelson "Pancho and Lefty."
Merle's chart fortunes began to change in 1985, as a
new breed of singers began to dominate the chart.
Nearly every one of the artists, from George Strait
to Randy Travis, was greatly influenced by Haggard,
but their idol's new singles now had a tough time
reaching the top of the charts. He had two Top Ten
hits in 1986, and 1987's Chill Factor was a success,
spawning the Top Ten title track and "Twinkle,
Twinkle Lucky Star," which would prove to be his
last number one hit. In 1990, he signed with Curb
Records, but he continued to have trouble reaching
the charts; 1994 spawned his last modest hit, "In My
Next Life," which reached the Top 60.
When his contract with Curb ran out, Haggard, hoping
for better promotion and greater artistic freedom,
signed with Anti, a subsidiary of the Epitaph
punk-pop label. His first effort for Anti was
released in late 2000; titled If I Could Only Fly,
the gentle acoustic album was greeted with strong
reviews. Haggard released one more album for Anti,
2001's Roots, Vol. 1, before departing. After 2003's
Like Never Before, Haggard returned to his old home,
EMI, the following year, releasing a collection of
American pop standards called Unforgettable at the
end of that year. Chicago Wind appeared in the
summer of 2005.
Even when success eluded him, Haggard's music
remained some of the most consistently interesting
and inventive in country music. Not only have his
recordings remained fresh, but each subsequent
generation of country singers shows a great debt to
his work. That fact stands as a testament to his
great talent even more than his induction to the
Country Music Hall of Fame. ~ Stephen Thomas
Erlewine, All Music Guide .
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