Was Haggard an "Outlaw"? Well given his youthful crimes and prison terms, then he was in a literal sense, more an outlaw than the mostly law abiding "outlaw" musicians like Waylon and Willie. Like fellow Bakersfield product, Buck Owens, being aloof from the Nashville music scene meant he had no need to rebel against its conformist studio system. And like Buck Owens and, to a lesser extent, Johnny Cash, his music and image was never tied to the Nashville Sound. So, in a sense, like Cash and Owns, Haggard already had "street cred", wearing jeans through the 1960's instead of the rhinestone splashed Nudie suit. Cash's image was helped by his recorded prison concerts. But long before Cash became famous for his prison concerts in the late 1960s, Merle had regularly performed for prisoners without anyone noticing (or recording), including San Quentin. It was just something he did to help the down-and-out. He expected nothing in return and never publicised them. He also never glamourised his criminal past - something he wasn't proud of, as the lyrics in 'Mama Tried' make clear.
While Merle never played any part in the "formal" outlaw movement, his image towards the late 1970's aligned more
and more, growing his hair longer and a beard, his attire became scruffy and the "Okie From Muskogee" even started smoking dope from 1978, in addition to his unfiltered Camel cigarettes. By then he had become very good friends with Willie Nelson and George Jones. But the Outlaw movement really didn't change Merle's music - he steered his own course, using influences from the blues and jazz, but always, with his song-writing, staying with the real life problems of the every day person.
It was during this late 1970's stage that Haggard's 13 year marriage to Bonnie Owens ended. Owens was one of his most trusted companions and she even helped raise Haggard's 4 kids from his first marriage, having been previously married to fellow Buck Owens. When Haggard was smitten by Leona Williams, the normally decisive Hag couldn't make up his mind between the two women. On stage, Haggard cracked a joke as to how he tried to avoid the song, 'I’ve Got a Darlin’ (for
a Wife)' because his fans may get confused about who he was talking about. Owens realized his feelings for Williams and stopped coming back home to him. Yet when he married Williams, Bonnie stayed by his side and was even the the maid-of-honor at the wedding. Their friendship continued and she continued as his back-up singer and close friend for many more years and through two more Haggard marriages, until Alzheimer's disease took her away in 2006.
But now for Merle's 1980's music. Two legends are better than one, we always say - and when the song is written by a third legend (Willie Nelson) even better! The title track of Haggard and George Jones' 1982 album, "Yesterday's Wine" hit # 1 and stayed on the charts for 10 weeks. It was originally written and recorded by Willie Nelson as the title track of his 1971 album. The tune tells the story of two old friends unexpectedly running into each other at a bar after many years - which wasn't too far fetched at all for these two -
In so many of his songs, Haggard expressed a desire to return to a simpler time when things weren’t as complicated. The lyrics of this 198 # 2 single had many Country fans doing just that. Whether listeners perceive Haggard's lead character as an older man behind the times or as someone rightfully missing a better time, this lament about changes in society revisits the type of sentimentality that's often close to the surface in country music. While the specific examples in the song are now, of course, dated, they can easily be replaced with contemporary examples -
A great #1 song, 'You Take Me For Granted" is off Merle's 1983 album, "Going Where the Lonely Go". If the songs title suggests a female point of view, there's a good reason - it was written with wife, Leona Williams. The 6 year 1978 - 1983 union of Haggard and Leona Williams was a tumultuous one at times and maybe Williams was trying to tell her husband something with the direct lyrics of this one. Whether he took her advice can be debated (Haggard was always his own man and wasn't the type that cared too much about the opinion of others) as they divorced shortly after its release,
but he did take it to # 1 -
'What Am I Going To Do With The Rest Of My Life' was only a # 3 hit in 1983, but too good not to include here, In a catalog filled with some of the most crushing breakup ballads ever authored, few are more impactful than this wry, devastating rumination on the internal bargaining that occurs when you are living through real-time heartbreak, hour
by aching hour. Here the narrator engages in the simple task of listing various distractions from his lost love - smoking, drinking, hanging out with friends - only to realize that the sum total of these diversions will only get him through one more night, with only more dark days to follow. The quietly knowing chorus brings with it the hellish implication that
rock-bottom misery is the singer’s new normal. This live 1985 performance has a fine example of Merle's guitar picking -
By the time this song was recorded, Merle Haggard was considered a legend in country music. With nearly 20 years of
hits already to his credit, he took a moment to honor one of his main musical influences, Lefty Frizzell. Haggard had loved Lefty's 'That's the Way Love Goes' (see post # 219) since he first heard it and he took a stab at recording it in the mid 1970's with unsatisfactory results, that version being too lighthearted and whimsical. However the more reflective and poignant version Haggard recorded in 1983 became his 30th # 1, spending 21 weeks on the charts and won him that year's Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance -
"I've spent most all my life searching for that four leaf clover / Yet you run with me chasing my rainbows honey ..." -
Haggard's legendary career will be concluded tomorrow, as he approaches a mid-life crisis in the mid1980's.
While Merle never played any part in the "formal" outlaw movement, his image towards the late 1970's aligned more
and more, growing his hair longer and a beard, his attire became scruffy and the "Okie From Muskogee" even started smoking dope from 1978, in addition to his unfiltered Camel cigarettes. By then he had become very good friends with Willie Nelson and George Jones. But the Outlaw movement really didn't change Merle's music - he steered his own course, using influences from the blues and jazz, but always, with his song-writing, staying with the real life problems of the every day person.
It was during this late 1970's stage that Haggard's 13 year marriage to Bonnie Owens ended. Owens was one of his most trusted companions and she even helped raise Haggard's 4 kids from his first marriage, having been previously married to fellow Buck Owens. When Haggard was smitten by Leona Williams, the normally decisive Hag couldn't make up his mind between the two women. On stage, Haggard cracked a joke as to how he tried to avoid the song, 'I’ve Got a Darlin’ (for
a Wife)' because his fans may get confused about who he was talking about. Owens realized his feelings for Williams and stopped coming back home to him. Yet when he married Williams, Bonnie stayed by his side and was even the the maid-of-honor at the wedding. Their friendship continued and she continued as his back-up singer and close friend for many more years and through two more Haggard marriages, until Alzheimer's disease took her away in 2006.
But now for Merle's 1980's music. Two legends are better than one, we always say - and when the song is written by a third legend (Willie Nelson) even better! The title track of Haggard and George Jones' 1982 album, "Yesterday's Wine" hit # 1 and stayed on the charts for 10 weeks. It was originally written and recorded by Willie Nelson as the title track of his 1971 album. The tune tells the story of two old friends unexpectedly running into each other at a bar after many years - which wasn't too far fetched at all for these two -
In so many of his songs, Haggard expressed a desire to return to a simpler time when things weren’t as complicated. The lyrics of this 198 # 2 single had many Country fans doing just that. Whether listeners perceive Haggard's lead character as an older man behind the times or as someone rightfully missing a better time, this lament about changes in society revisits the type of sentimentality that's often close to the surface in country music. While the specific examples in the song are now, of course, dated, they can easily be replaced with contemporary examples -
A great #1 song, 'You Take Me For Granted" is off Merle's 1983 album, "Going Where the Lonely Go". If the songs title suggests a female point of view, there's a good reason - it was written with wife, Leona Williams. The 6 year 1978 - 1983 union of Haggard and Leona Williams was a tumultuous one at times and maybe Williams was trying to tell her husband something with the direct lyrics of this one. Whether he took her advice can be debated (Haggard was always his own man and wasn't the type that cared too much about the opinion of others) as they divorced shortly after its release,
but he did take it to # 1 -
'What Am I Going To Do With The Rest Of My Life' was only a # 3 hit in 1983, but too good not to include here, In a catalog filled with some of the most crushing breakup ballads ever authored, few are more impactful than this wry, devastating rumination on the internal bargaining that occurs when you are living through real-time heartbreak, hour
by aching hour. Here the narrator engages in the simple task of listing various distractions from his lost love - smoking, drinking, hanging out with friends - only to realize that the sum total of these diversions will only get him through one more night, with only more dark days to follow. The quietly knowing chorus brings with it the hellish implication that
rock-bottom misery is the singer’s new normal. This live 1985 performance has a fine example of Merle's guitar picking -
By the time this song was recorded, Merle Haggard was considered a legend in country music. With nearly 20 years of
hits already to his credit, he took a moment to honor one of his main musical influences, Lefty Frizzell. Haggard had loved Lefty's 'That's the Way Love Goes' (see post # 219) since he first heard it and he took a stab at recording it in the mid 1970's with unsatisfactory results, that version being too lighthearted and whimsical. However the more reflective and poignant version Haggard recorded in 1983 became his 30th # 1, spending 21 weeks on the charts and won him that year's Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance -
"I've spent most all my life searching for that four leaf clover / Yet you run with me chasing my rainbows honey ..." -
Haggard's legendary career will be concluded tomorrow, as he approaches a mid-life crisis in the mid1980's.
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