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Music Monday: RIP Merle Haggard

by Scott Lydon


Happy Music Monday! I was literally just finishing a tribute to the late Gato Barbieri when Merle Haggard passed away. So get ready for Gato's tribute down the road. This week's death recap goes to Merle.

Merle Haggard - (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers

 

Merle Haggard was born in a boxcar. Merle Haggard lost his father when he was still in single digits. Merle Haggard taught himself to play guitar by listening to records. Merle Haggard was in prison, where he saw Johnny Cash perform, and Merle Haggard decided he wanted to do that to. Merle Haggard was basically the character you'd expect a Hollywood writer to create as a caricature of a country star, except Merle Haggard earned every damn bit of it with his own two hands. Merle Haggard was a bad-ass. Today's all about him. This song here was his first top ten hit which is why we're starting with it. He didn't write it himself, but he made it famous.

More Merle ahead. Be ready.

Merle Haggard - The Legend Of Bonny & Clyde

 

All right, all right, I know his real hit for this year was the ballad on the b-side and that's totally justified, but I am and always will be a sucker for the history story song. The cinematic tale of Bonnie & Clyde has some nice Smokey & The Bandit style pickin' underneath the smooth country harmonies of a gentleman. And it ends politely before the shootout so you don't have to get grossed out. THIS SONG HAS EVERYTHING.

The Byrds - Sing Me Back Home

 

Merle first hit it big with someone else's song. Of course, once he got started, he was only happy to return the favor and let someone else have a turn at HIS songs. This Byrds cover isn't as good as the original but it does demonstrate just how well-respected Merle Haggard actually was. How many rock stars today are bothering to cover current country songs? How many would even know a current country songwriter's name?

Merle Haggard - I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink

 

It goes without saying that a guy who grew up an outlaw would gravitate toward outlaw country, and that's the reputation Merle Haggard cultivated as time went on. The voice stopped being as smooth, the plots got a little tougher, and one could argue his work wasn't as good as the early stuff. But even if one argues that, one still can't deny that a song like this is kinda charming. Sure, it's more bar jukebox than Grand Ol Opry, but by 1980 so was most of country music.

Merle Haggard - Laugh It Off

 

Yes, I'm skipping a lot, including a few MAJOR hits, some great tribute albums, covers from other artists and more. Yes, there are a ton of good Merle Haggard stories and references from other people's songs that just aren't mentioned in this Music Monday. Much like David Bowie, there's no way to sum up Merle Haggard in just five songs. And that's where you come in. Post all those #1 songs in the comments below and let's all crack a bottle of whiskey and listen to Merle Haggard all day, together, and remind each other of all those songs we loved and all those songs we somehow never heard. Because he had a ton. RIP Merle. Thank you.

Let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.