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| |
| Artist : Merle Haggard |
| Album : I Am What I Am |
| Label : Vanguard Records |
| Year : 2010 |
| Genre : Country |
| Rip date : Apr-06-2010 |
| Store date : Apr-20-2010 |
| Size : 44,8 MB |
| |
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| |
| 01 - I've Seen It Go Away 03:01 |
| 02 - Pretty When It's New 03:13 |
| 03 - Oil Tanker Train 03:03 |
| 04 - Live And Love Always 02:31 |
| 05 - The Road To My Heart 02:51 |
| 06 - How Did You Find Me Here 03:55 |
| 07 - We're Falling In Love Again 03:32 |
| 08 - Bad Actor 03:28 |
| 09 - Down At The End Of The Road 03:10 |
| 10 - Stranger In The City 02:09 |
| 11 - Mexican Bands 03:28 |
| 12 - I Am What I Am 02:38 |
| |
| |
| 36:59 min |
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| As a performer and a songwriter, Merle Haggard was the most important |
| country artist to emerge in the 1960s, and he 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 ù country, jazz, blues, and |
| folk ù 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 ù 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 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 ù "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, 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 ù "Hungry Eyes," "Workin' Man |
| Blues," and "Okie from Muskogee" ù 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. Haggard then |
| turned to bluegrass, releasing the appropriately titled The Bluegrass |
| Sessions, which featured appearances by Marty Stuart, Aubrey Haynie, and |
| Alison Krauss (among others) in 2007. In 2008 he got the Bear Family |
| treatment with the release of the multi-disc box sets Hag: The Studio |
| Recordings 1969-1976 and Hag: Concepts, Live & the Strangers: The |
| Capitol Recordings 1968-1976. I Am What I Am, an album of new songs, |
| appeared from Vanguard Records in 2010. |
| |
| 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 |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This NFO File was rendered by NFOmation.net
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Artist : Merle Haggard |
| Album : I Am What I Am |
| Label : Vanguard Records |
| Year : 2010 |
| Genre : Country |
| Rip date : Apr-06-2010 |
| Store date : Apr-20-2010 |
| Size : 44,8 MB |
| |
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| |
| 01 - I've Seen It Go Away 03:01 |
| 02 - Pretty When It's New 03:13 |
| 03 - Oil Tanker Train 03:03 |
| 04 - Live And Love Always 02:31 |
| 05 - The Road To My Heart 02:51 |
| 06 - How Did You Find Me Here 03:55 |
| 07 - We're Falling In Love Again 03:32 |
| 08 - Bad Actor 03:28 |
| 09 - Down At The End Of The Road 03:10 |
| 10 - Stranger In The City 02:09 |
| 11 - Mexican Bands 03:28 |
| 12 - I Am What I Am 02:38 |
| |
| |
| 36:59 min |
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| As a performer and a songwriter, Merle Haggard was the most important |
| country artist to emerge in the 1960s, and he 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 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, 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. Haggard then |
| turned to bluegrass, releasing the appropriately titled The Bluegrass |
| Sessions, which featured appearances by Marty Stuart, Aubrey Haynie, and |
| Alison Krauss (among others) in 2007. In 2008 he got the Bear Family |
| treatment with the release of the multi-disc box sets Hag: The Studio |
| Recordings 1969-1976 and Hag: Concepts, Live & the Strangers: The |
| Capitol Recordings 1968-1976. I Am What I Am, an album of new songs, |
| appeared from Vanguard Records in 2010. |
| |
| 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 |
| |
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