On his 86th birthday, we salute the Hag
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Merle Haggard
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Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band the Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country steel guitar sound, new vocal harmony styles in which the words are minimal, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville sound recordings of the same era.
Haggard s childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated several times in his youth. He managed to turn his life around and launch a successful country music career, gaining popularity with his songs about the working class that occasionally contained themes contrary to the prevailing anti-Vietnam War sentiment of much popular music of the time. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, he had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also mad
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Alternative Title: Merle Ronald Haggard
Merle Haggard, in full Merle Ronald Haggard, (born April 6, 1937, Oildale, California, U.S. died April 6, 2016, near Redding, California), American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, one of the most popular country music performers of the late 20th century, with nearly 40 number one country hits between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s.
Haggard’s parents moved from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to the Bakersfield area of California, and he grew up in a converted boxcar. His father died when he was 9 years old, and, by the time he was 14, he was engaged in a life of petty crime and truancy, with frequent stays in juvenile facilities. His escapades eventually led to incarceration (1957–60) in the California State Prison at San Quentin. (Singles that reflect that experience include “Branded Man” [1967] and “Sing Me Back Home” [1968].)