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Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated several times in his youth.
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- The Lonesome Fugitive. Merle Haggard was born on April 6, 1937, near Bakersfield, California. The son of a railroad worker, Haggard grew up in Depression-era California and lived with his family in a box car that they had converted into their home.
- Branded. In 1958, at the age of 20, Merle Haggard was sent to San Quentin prison after being convicted for burglary and attempted escape from county jail.
- Swinging Doors. After gaining a loyal local following in his hometown, Haggard traveled to Las Vegas, where he began playing bass guitar for Wynn Stewart.
- A Working Man. Since then, Haggard has released close to 70 albums and 600 songs, 250 of which he has written himself. Among his most memorable albums were The Fightin' Side of Me (1970), Someday We'll Look Back (1971), If We Make It Through December (1974) and A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today (1977).
Apr 6, 2016 · Merle Haggard, who over six decades composed and performed one of the greatest repertoires in country music, capturing the American condition with his stories of the poor, the lost, the...
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Apr 6, 2016 · Merle Haggard. 02:23. Merle Haggard – “the Poet of the Common Man” – is widely considered one of the most important singer-songwriters in the history of country music. During a career...
Apr 6, 2016 · April 6, 1937. Died. April 6, 2016. Birthplace. Bakersfield, California. Merle Haggard stands, with the arguable exception of Hank Williams, as the single most influential singer-songwriter in country music history. He was one of country music’s most versatile artists, stylistically mining honky-tonk, blues, jazz, pop, and folk.
May 20, 2024 · Merle Haggard (born April 6, 1937, Oildale, California, U.S.—died April 6, 2016, near Redding, California) was an 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.
Jan 19, 2022 · January 19, 20225:14 AM ET. Heard on Morning Edition. 7-Minute Listen. Playlist. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Haggard's biographer Marc Eliot about his book: The Hag. Haggard spent his...
