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Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield sound. With a career spanning over five decades, Haggard had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also made the Billboard all-genre singles chart.
Haggard overcame a troubled childhood, criminal convictions and time in prison to launch a successful country music career. He gained popularity with his songs about the working class; these occasionally contained themes contrary to the anti–Vietnam War sentiment of some popular music of the time.
Haggard received many honors and awards, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010); a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006); a BMI Icon Award (2006); and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977); Country Music Hall of Fame (1994) and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (1997). He died of pneumonia on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—at his ranch in Shasta County, California.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, the son of Flossie Mae (née Harp; 1902–1984) and James Francis Haggard (1899–1946), who, in 1934, had moved to California after their farm in Checotah, Oklahoma burned down.
They settled with their two elder children, James "Lowell" (1922–1996) and Lillian, in an apartment in Bakersfield, while James started working for the Santa Fe Railroad. A woman who owned a boxcar in nearby Oildale asked Haggard's father about the possibility of converting it into a house. He remodeled and expanded the boxcar, and soon after moved in, also purchasing the lot, where Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6, 1937.
In 1946, James Haggard died of a brain hemorrhage. Nine-year-old Merle was deeply affected by the loss, and it remained a pivotal event to him for the rest of his life. To support the family, Haggard's mother took a job as a bookkeeper. Older brother Lowell gave his guitar to Merle when Merle was 12. Haggard taught himself to play, with the records he had at home, influenced by Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, and Hank Williams. While his mother was at work, Haggard started getting into trouble. She sent him to a juvenile detention center for a weekend but his behavior worsened.
By age 13, Haggard was stealing and writing bad checks. In 1950 he was caught shoplifting and sent to a juvenile detention center. The following year, he ran away to Texas with his friend Bob Teague. The two rode freight trains and hitchhiked throughout the state. When they returned later that year, they were accused of robbery and sent to jail; they were released when the real robbers were found. Merle was sent to a juvenile detention center later that year, from which he and his friend escaped and headed to Modesto, California. There, he worked as a potato truck driver, short order cook, hay pitcher and oil well shooter. During this time, he made his musical debut performance, with Teague, in a Modesto bar named "Fun Center", for which he was paid US$5 and given free beer.
In 1951, Haggard returned to Bakersfield, where he was arrested for truancy and petty larceny and sent to a juvenile detention center. After another escape, he was sent to the high-security Preston School of Industry. He was released 15 months later but was sent back after beating a local boy during a burglary attempt. After his release, he and Teague saw Lefty Frizzell in concert. The two sat backstage, where Haggard began to sing along. Hearing the young man from the stage, Frizzell insisted that Haggard come on stage and sing. He was well received by the audience and decided to pursue a career in music. At night he would sing and play in local bars, while working as a farmhand or in the oil fields during the day.
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Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield sound. With a career spanning over five decades, Haggard had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also made the Billboard all-genre singles chart.
Haggard overcame a troubled childhood, criminal convictions and time in prison to launch a successful country music career. He gained popularity with his songs about the working class; these occasionally contained themes contrary to the anti–Vietnam War sentiment of some popular music of the time.
Haggard received many honors and awards, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010); a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006); a BMI Icon Award (2006); and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977); Country Music Hall of Fame (1994) and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (1997). He died of pneumonia on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—at his ranch in Shasta County, California.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, the son of Flossie Mae (née Harp; 1902–1984) and James Francis Haggard (1899–1946), who, in 1934, had moved to California after their farm in Checotah, Oklahoma burned down.
They settled with their two elder children, James "Lowell" (1922–1996) and Lillian, in an apartment in Bakersfield, while James started working for the Santa Fe Railroad. A woman who owned a boxcar in nearby Oildale asked Haggard's father about the possibility of converting it into a house. He remodeled and expanded the boxcar, and soon after moved in, also purchasing the lot, where Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6, 1937.
In 1946, James Haggard died of a brain hemorrhage. Nine-year-old Merle was deeply affected by the loss, and it remained a pivotal event to him for the rest of his life. To support the family, Haggard's mother took a job as a bookkeeper. Older brother Lowell gave his guitar to Merle when Merle was 12. Haggard taught himself to play, with the records he had at home, influenced by Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, and Hank Williams. While his mother was at work, Haggard started getting into trouble. She sent him to a juvenile detention center for a weekend but his behavior worsened.
By age 13, Haggard was stealing and writing bad checks. In 1950 he was caught shoplifting and sent to a juvenile detention center. The following year, he ran away to Texas with his friend Bob Teague. The two rode freight trains and hitchhiked throughout the state. When they returned later that year, they were accused of robbery and sent to jail; they were released when the real robbers were found. Merle was sent to a juvenile detention center later that year, from which he and his friend escaped and headed to Modesto, California. There, he worked as a potato truck driver, short order cook, hay pitcher and oil well shooter. During this time, he made his musical debut performance, with Teague, in a Modesto bar named "Fun Center", for which he was paid US$5 and given free beer.
In 1951, Haggard returned to Bakersfield, where he was arrested for truancy and petty larceny and sent to a juvenile detention center. After another escape, he was sent to the high-security Preston School of Industry. He was released 15 months later but was sent back after beating a local boy during a burglary attempt. After his release, he and Teague saw Lefty Frizzell in concert. The two sat backstage, where Haggard began to sing along. Hearing the young man from the stage, Frizzell insisted that Haggard come on stage and sing. He was well received by the audience and decided to pursue a career in music. At night he would sing and play in local bars, while working as a farmhand or in the oil fields during the day.
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