THE LEGACY OF MERLE RONALD HAGGARD

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Life Growing Up For Merle…………………3 Troubles………………………………………7 Pursuing A Music Career………………….10 Prison Life…………………………………..14 Life After Prison…………………………….17 Life With Music……………………………..18 Rising Star…………………………………..21 Conclusion…………………………………..24 Works Cited…………………………………25

LIFE GROWING UP FOR MERLE

Merle Haggard was born to James and Flossie Haggard on April 6, 1937, in Bakersfield, California.

His father worked for the railroad during the Great Depression.

Merle was born and raised in a railroad boxcar, his father had it converted into a house.

When his father, James Haggard died in 1946 from a brain tumor, Merle became a troubled kid.

Within five years, while he was still a young teen, Haggard was skipping school and indulging in petty crime (2).

Merle compiled a criminal record that included offenses such as truancy, passing phony checks, and grand theft auto.

His increasing crimes landed him in and out of reform facilities and county jails.

He spent his youth getting into trouble and running away from home.

Haggard escaped from juvenile homes no less than seven times, traveled up and down the West Coast doing odd jobs here and there (2).

TROUBLES

His mother tried to straighten her son out by putting him in several juvenile detention centers.

At the age of 14, Merle continued to rebel, running away with a friend to Texas. A few months later, they returned to California, where they were arrested as robbery suspects.

Merle was sent back to juvenile hall, but he ran again and headed to Modesto, California. While in Modesto, he managed to commit a series of small crimes.

By the end of 1951, Merle had returned home and he was again arrested for truancy, as well as petty larceny.

In 1952, Merle was sent to Fred C. Nelles School for Boys in Whittier, California. Again, he ran away.

The courts then decided that this time he was found incorrigible and sent him to the high-security Preston School of Industry; he was later released after serving 15 months (1).

Upon his release, Merle and a friend beat up a local boy during an attempted robbery, and Merle was sent back to Preston School of Industry.

PURSUING A MUSIC CAREER

After getting out of Preston School of Industry the second time, Merle had his first major event in his music career.

He and a friend went to see Lefty Frizzell in concert in Bakersfield, California. Before the show, they went backstage with some friends and Merle sang a couple of songs for Lefty Frizzell.

Lefty was so impressed that he had Merle sing a song on stage before his concert.

After that night, Merle pursued a musical career. He performed at local clubs in Bakersfield, California.

His performances led him to a spot on a local television show, Chuck Wagon.

In 1956, he married Leona Hobbs. The two of them moved into his family’s old home, the converted boxcar.

During 1957, Merle was plagued by financial problems.

His only way of making ends meet led him to robbery.

Merle and two other friends had been drinking and attempted to rob a restaurant.

They thought the restaurant was closed at the time of the robbery, when it was actually still open for business.

The three were arrested later that day. The following day, Merle escaped from jail

in order to make peace with his wife and family.

He was later recaptured and was sentenced to 15 years in San Quentin prison.

PRISON LIFE

Merle continued his antisocial behavior in the rough prison.

He was fired from a series of prison jobs. Merle planned an escape from prison,

but some fellow inmates talked him out of it.

Two years into his sentence, Merle found out that his wife was pregnant with another man’s child.

This news sent him over the edge. Merle and his cellmate starting brewing

beer in their cell and began a gambling racket.

Merle was caught drunk and was placed in isolation for a week.

While in isolation, he met death row inmate, inmate, Caryl Chessman.

Their conversations and the time in isolation convinced Haggard to turn his life around (1).

He began working in the prison’s textile plant and took some high school equivalency courses.

He was also allowed to play in the prison’s country band.

While in prison, Merle got to meet his idol, Johnny Johnny Cash.

At his second parole hearing in 1960, Haggard was given a five-year sentence—two years and nine months in prison, two years and three months on parole; he left prison 90 days later (1).

LIFE AFTER PRISON

Merle was paroled at the age of 23, he then returned to Bakersfield.

He moved back in with his wife, Leona and returned to manual labor jobs.

Haggard soon found regular work as a backup guitarist at the clubs in Bakersfield and Las Vegas(2).

In 1962, he met Fuzzy Owen, who became his manager and mentor in the music business.

LIFE WITH MUSIC

Fuzzy Owen had coached Haggard on his singing and songwriting.

Owen bought Tally Records, a tiny production company.

In 1963 Owen recorded Haggard’s first single.

The second single, “Sing Me a Sad Song,” made the country charts.

The next single, “All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers,” made the country top ten.

Merle Haggard became a success overnight. Capitol Records offered him a contract. In what would become a typical Haggard fashion

—the artist agreed to the deal only if Capitol would buy Tally Records and make Fuzzy Owen his manager. Capitol agreed (2).

Merle then started writing his own music, hitting the top of the charts with every release.

By 1968, Merle Haggard was one of the top stars in country music with a fanatical following in America’s factories and bars and prisons….(2).

Haggard’s streak of No. 1 singles during the 1960s culminated with what would become his signature song and his most controversial recording, “Okie from Muskogee” (3).

This song was released in 1969, the song became an anthem for middle Americans whose patriotism and traditional values were under attack from Vietnam War protestors and hippies (3).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYY2FQHFwE

RISING STAR

Haggard became a genuine country superstar in 1966.

He had 3 top ten hits in 1966, including “Swinging Doors”, “The Bottle Let Me Down”, and “The Fugitive”.

“The Fugitive” (later retitled “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive”) became his first number one (1).

Haggard began a remarkable streak of 37 straight Top Ten hits, including 23 number one singles.

“Sing Me Back Home” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PEwBdCeINg

“Branded Man” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO67h_359wM

and “Mama Tried” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffHcGlF0xDw

these songs represented a change in Haggard’s songwriting, as he began to directly address his troubled history (1).

These songs were the first to mention his time in prison. Each single was a bigger hit than the previous song, which

encouraged Haggard to continue writing in a more personal style.

In 1990, Merle Haggard released his first album, “Blue Jungle”.

Haggard has released close to 70 albums and 600 songs, 250 of which he has written himself (3).

Haggard was elected to the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 1977.

In 1994, his achievements earned him induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

CONCLUSION

I learned a lot about Merle Haggard during my research. He is a remarkable musician. His life story ranges from poverty, to prison, to becoming a superstar. Even when success eluded him, Merle Haggard’s music remained some of the most consistently interesting and inventive in country music. Not only have his recordings remained fresh, but each subsequent generation of country singers shows a great debt to his work. That fact stands as a testament to his great talent even more than his induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame (1).

WORKS CITED

Merle Haggard Biography. 18 October 2009. MTV Networks. 30 October 2010. http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/haggard_merle/bio.jhtml.

Merle Haggard. 2010. Answers Corporation. 1 November 2010. http://www.answers.com/topic/merle-haggard-country-singer-songwriter.

Merle Haggard Biography. 1996-2010. A & E Television Networks. 1 November 2010. http://www.biography.com/articles/Merle-Haggard-9542118.

Haggard, Merle. “Okie From Muskogee.” Online video clip. You Tube. 10 November 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYY2FQHFwE

Haggard, Merle. “Sing Me Back Home.” Online video clip. You Tube. 14 November 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PEwBdCeINg

Haggard, Merle. “Branded Man”. Online video clip. You Tube. 14 November 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO67h_359wM

Haggard, Merle. “Mama Tried”. Online video clip. You Tube. 14 November 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffHcGlF0xDw