Merle Haggard
1,000 Greatest Songs of the 1960s – 150 to 141
“Instead of doing life in prison I was doing one to fifteen years. I just couldn’t get that to rhyme.”
1,000 Greatest Songs of the 1960s – 630 to 621
Resulted in his touring band being named The Strangers
Country Music History – Essential Releases from 1980, Part 2
On a three day bender
Country Music History – Essential Releases of 1978, Part 2
Viva La Mexico!
Country Music History – Essential Releases of 1969, Part III
A tribute to blue collar men
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1965, Part II
The only thing I can count on now is my fingers
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part Four
He lived life on his own terms and we are all much richer as a result of his idiosyncratic journey.
Merle Haggard Buried At Private Funeral
The funeral went on to include a handful of performances by some of Haggard’s collaborators and confidantes
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part Three
He went from a legitimate to a fading superstar
That Was The Week That Was: April 4th, 2016
A terrific story of country and rebirth
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part II
They display his ability to simultaneously be a historian, traditionalist, and, at the time, a major country music superstar.
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part One
Universally respected for his talent, his honesty, and his steadfast underdog empathy
Merle Haggard 1937-2016
Merle Haggard, the working man’s poet, an architect of the Bakersfield Sound, and an artist who influenced country music like few others, died Wednesday
Merle Haggard Cancels Gigs
He was originally diagnosed with double pneumonia and hospitalized in December
US Top 10 Albums 6-21-15
When is a hit album not a hit album? When it is by two of countries biggest stars and still only moves 30K units. To put it another way, including Grandkids and Great Grandkids, cousins, seconds cousin, and former bandmate’s next of kin, nobody else actually bought the damn thing. Talk about going to pot.
30 Essential ‘70’s Songs from the Lone Star State
The following excerpts from Steve Crawford’s book “1000 Essential Songs from the 1970s focuses on Texas born or Texas based artists with entries from Waylon, Willie, Ray Price, ZZ Top, Billy Joe Shaver, the late, great Townes Van Zandt, and many other musicians who were completely comfortable wearing cowboy hats.
Willie Nelson And Merle Haggard, ‘It’s All Going to Pot’
The joyful tune sounds like an instant country classic for sure, and who could have thought that the drug revolution would have come from two octogenarians? (Willie is 81, Merle 78)… We live in a weed culture, and for once, we got grandpas for leaders!
From Bobdylan.com: A Post-MusiCares Conversation with Bill Flanagan
Back then, though, Buck and Merle were closely associated; two of a kind. They defined the Bakersfield sound. Buck reached out to me in those days, and lifted up my spirits when I was down, I mean really down
The 99 Best Country Songs of the 1900s
This is a primer for all country friends and wannabe country fans out there. You don’t know where to start on your country collection, start in the 20th Century and start here