Merle haggard children
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Merle Haggard: Born an Outsider, Died an Icon
Sometime in the 1970s, when country artists still frowned upon overdubbing their recordings, Merle Haggard went into the control booth after a performance to consult with Jim Williamson, who engineered the bulk of Haggard’s sessions for roughly 15 years.
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Williamson, now deceased, told Haggard that one of the musicians had muffed their part and they’d need to rerecord it. “Hag” cocked his eyebrow, then rebuffed Williamson. People didn’t buy records for the background parts.
“They buy them for the singer and the song, and that’s the best I’m going to sing that,” Haggard allegedly told Williamson. “That’s the take.”
Hag, who died April 6 after a four-month battle with pneumonia, was amused by that story when it was repeated to him during an interview for the Billboard Country Update last July.
“I don’t remember that,” he said, “but it’s probably true.”
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Merle Haggard
1937–2016
Who Was Merle Haggard?
Country music star Merle Haggard was born near Bakersfield, California, in 1937. Originally a troubled youngster who served time in San Quentin prison, Haggard grew to become a country music legend. With 38 No. 1 hits and 250 original songs, Haggard remains one of the best-known and most covered artists in country music.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Merle Ronald Haggard
BORN: April 6, 1937
DIED: April 6, 2016
BIRTHPLACE: Oildale, California
NICKNAME: The Hag
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries
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. As a child, he was plagued by a respiratory condition, which frequently kept him out of school and confined to bed rest. In 1945 life grew even more difficult when his father died of a stroke, forcing his mother to find work and leave her young son in the care of family members.
Left to his own devices,
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Merle Haggard Biography
Merle Haggard's legacy as a songwriter and performer puts him on equal footing with such country legends as Johnny Cash and Jimmie Rodgers, two of his major influences. His 1960s recordings epitomized the Bakersfield sound, and his strong output in the 21st century has consistently earned critical acclaim, even while the conventions of "new country" reign over the country music landscape.
Early Life
Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6, 1937 in Oildale, Calif., about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. His parents relocated there from Oklahoma during the Great Depression to find work. They lived in a converted boxcar. His father died of a brain hemorrhage in 1945, which left Haggard deeply affected, and his mother worked as a bookkeeper to support the family.
His brother gave him a guitar when he was 12 years old and he taught himself how to play, seeking inspiration from the likes of Lefty Frizzell, Bob Wills, and Hank Williams. With his mother absent due to work, Haggard became more and more rebellious. He spent his childhood getting into
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