Biography of Merle Haggard

A big difference between Merle Haggard and many other superstars is that while he's been wildly popular and the hottest performer in the business, he's won this acclaim on his own terms, maintaining his musical integrity and never pandering to musical whims, fads, or fancies. He doesn't know what middle-of-the-road is; he travels traditional country. His great voice and instrumental ability combine with superior songwriting productivity to make him one of the most significant personalities in country music this half-century. Like so many of the classic country singers, Haggard has first-hand knowledge of the music he writes and sings about. The son of Dust Bowl Okies, he was born in a converted boxcar in Bakersfield, CA. Haggard was only nine when his father died, a fact that probably led him into his many problems with the law, which included seven years in reform schools and three years at San Quentin for attempted burglary. After three years in prison, he played the honky-tonks around Bakersfield, debuting on the charts in 1963 with "Sing a Sad Song" and getting his first #1, "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive," three years later. Of his other thirty-one #1s, "Okie from Muskogee" may be the best remembered. Ironically, this song was taken up by the "silent majority" as an anti-hippie, pro-war anthem, though Haggard says he wrote it tongue-in-cheek. It's a country classic, in any case. With Merle Haggard, what you see (and hear) is what you get -- in this case, a legendary figure in country music. Judging from the current crop of Haggard sound-alikes, he's surely one of the most influential. ~ David Vinopal