Merle Haggard Reprise: "It's Almost 'Criminal' What They Do To President Obama"
Merle Haggard was one of the greatest influences on modern country singers and songwriters. The icon’s quintessential country sound was the basis for songs that would eventually become country classics and American Songbook standards.
From blue-collar anthems like “Workin’ Man Blues” and “If We Make It Through December,” to patriotic commentary like “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” and autobiographical tales like “Mama Tried” and “Branded Man,” we hope that we did justice in picking songs that best represent the career of this Country Music Hall of Famer.
‘That’s the Way Love Goes’
From ‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ (1983)
By the time this song was recorded, Merle Haggard was considered a legend in country music. With 20 years of hits already to his credit, he took a moment to honor one of his main musical influences, Lefty Frizzell. Penned by Frizzell and songwriting legend Whitey Shafer, Haggard’s version of “That’s the Way Love Goes” nabbed a Grammy for Best Male Vocal Performance.
‘Today I Started Loving You Again’
From ‘The Best of the Best of Merle Haggard’ (1972)
Merle Haggard penned several of his great hits, but he had more success with this song as a writer than as its singer. Haggard’s version of “Today I Started Loving You Again” didn’t chart, but the song would become an American Songbook standard thanks to renditions by Sammi Smith, Emmylou Harris, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, plus several others from all genres, which is why it makes our list of the Top 10 Merle Haggard Songs.
‘I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink’
From ‘Back to the Barrooms’ (1980)
Merle Haggard had several barroom songs to his credit. “Swinging Doors,” “The Bottle Let Me Down,” “Misery and Gin,” “C.C. Waterback” and “Rainbow Stew” were all great songs to drink by. However, we selected “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” as the best of the drinkin’ batch. The song was recently re-cut as a duet with Merle Haggard on Hank Williams, Jr.’s new album, Old School, New Rules.
‘If We Make It Through December’
From ‘If We Make It Through December’ (1974)
Writing songs about hard times in America was Merle Haggard’s forte. A good example of that was the song that spoke of family struggles during the holiday season. “If We Make It Through December” is a perennial favorite at country radio all these years later, due in part to the fact that many hard-working parents can still relate to the message of hoping to just make it through what is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year.”
‘The Fightin’ Side of Me’
From ‘The Fightin’ Side of Me’ 1970
“The Fightin’ Side of Me,” aimed at Vietnam protesters, was a controversial recording. However, Haggard told Tom Roland of Billboard’s No. 1 Country Hits that he wanted fans to know that he wasn’t saying that “you can’t stand up and say what you believe in, that’s one of the most important rights we have.” Instead, he told Billboard, “If we hadn’t defended our way of living, American way of life in the past, there wouldn’t be anything to tear up today.”
‘Workin’ Man Blues’
From ‘A Portrait of Merle Haggard’ (1969)
Honoring the core base of his loyal following, at the height of his career, Merle Haggard recorded an anthem for the overworked and underpaid everyday American worker. “Workin’ Man Blues” soared to No. 1, again giving the Bakersfield, California native another self-penned chart topper. This 45 record is a must-have on our list of the Top 10 Merle Haggard Songs.
‘Branded Man’
From ‘Branded Man’ (1967)
“Branded Man” was another autobiographical hit for Merle Haggard. As a young man spending time in prison for burglary, he wanted to put his feelings on paper, telling the story of an ex-convict trying to change and make his way back into the world. Ironically, while doing time in San Quentin, Haggard was able to attend one of the famous Johnny Cash prison concerts.
‘Big City’
From ‘Big City’ (1981)
Merle Haggard co-wrote this song with longtime friend Dean Holloway. As the two walked around California, where they were making an album, they became disgusted with the city’s dirty sidewalks, and it sparked the idea for a new song powered by twin fiddles. It features Leona Williams, Haggard’s wife at the time, on background vocals.
‘Okie From Muskogee’
From ‘Okie From Muskogee’ (1969)
Merle Haggard once again hit a nerve with his fanbase when he recorded what would become his signature song — “Okie From Muskogee.” The song was inspired when Haggard and one of his band members saw a road sign for Muskogee, and one of them commented that they probably didn’t smoke marijuana. They began feeding off that line centered around a right-wing political view. After many years and changes in life, Haggard later changed his tune about politics, with recordings like “That’s the News” and a song for Hillary Clinton, proclaiming “Let’s Put a Woman in Charge!”
‘Mama Tried’
From ‘Mama Tried’ (1968)
Inspired by his own life experiences as a wild, lawbreaking teenager, Merle Haggard honored his widowed mom, Flossie, with this song that reflected his own story that actually landed him in prison. Most of the song is true to his life, although he wasn’t doing life in prison as the song states. The next year, “Hungry Eyes” became another beautiful tribute to his mother.
Merle Haggard’s too-good-to-be-true story about Johnny Cash? It really happened.
Emily Yahr
Merle Haggard, second from left, with Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Glen Campbell. (CMT/AP)
As tributes to the late Merle Haggard continue to roll in, one anecdote keeps coming up: That time Haggard was an inmate at San Quentin and saw Johnny Cash perform one of his famous prison concerts.
Haggard devotees often point to that as a turning point for the hard-living country music star. Haggard’s teenage years were a blur of petty crime, vagabond travel and juvenile detention; arrested for robbery in 1957, he was doing hard-time and yes, really did turn 21 in prison — but he had serious music skills, and seeing Cash on stage inspired him to get his life on track.
Really? Honestly, it’s one of those tales that just seems too perfect. Two of country music’s most legendary outlaws just happened to cross paths in such suitable-for-the-biopic fashion?
Turns out, sometimes moments really are just that magical. Country music may be filled with myths, but Michael Gray, editor for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, assures us there’s no reason to doubt this one.
While Cash didn’t record his famed prison shows at Folsom and San Quentin until the late 1960s, he really did tour prisons as early as the late 1950s. The typical story going around is that Haggard saw him in early 1958. This timeline seemed questionable, since he didn’t enter San Quentin until March of that year.
But a database of Johnny Cash live performances indicates he performed at San Quentin on New Year’s Day of both 1959 and 1960 — squarely within Haggard’s tenure at the prison. Not only would he have had the chance to see him perform, it’s hard to imagine him passing up the chance.
Haggard also frequently spoke about the experience and wrote about it in his 2002 autobiography, “My House of Memories: For the Record.” When asked if he had any positive experiences in prison, Haggard would always talk about seeing Johnny Cash and how it helped him become a better man.
“He kept getting in trouble at San Quentin. . . Seeing Johnny Cash encouraged him [to say] ‘You know what, okay, I need to grow up and get my act together,'” Gray said. “It encouraged him to really just focus on music and quit getting in trouble and get out of prison and get on with his life and career.”
Even after that, Cash helped Haggard about a decade later. Haggard was out of prison and an established country star when he appeared as a guest on ABC’s “The Johnny Cash Show” in August 1969. According to Gray, Cash encouraged Haggard to talk about his rough past on television, and signal to the audience his hits like “Mama Tried” were truly autobiographical. The dialogue on air went something like this, Gray said, after Cash brought up San Quentin:
Haggard: “Funny you mention that, Johnny.”
Cash: “What?”
Haggard: “San Quentin.”
Cash: “Why’s that?”
Haggard: “The first time I ever saw you perform, it was at San Quentin.”
Cash: “I don’t remember you being in that show, Merle.”
Haggard: “I was in the audience, Johnny.”
Cash: “What?”
Haggard: “San Quentin.”
Cash: “Why’s that?”
Haggard: “The first time I ever saw you perform, it was at San Quentin.”
Cash: “I don’t remember you being in that show, Merle.”
Haggard: “I was in the audience, Johnny.”
Even though Haggard’s prison time wasn’t a secret, it was the first time he addressed it in front of a national audience, Gray said. ABC got letters from angry viewers, unhappy the network had an ex-convict on the air. But the whole appearance, as well as Cash’s encouragement to be honest, influenced his career for the better.
In fact, Gray said, Haggard’s tendency to confront personal struggles helped make him an icon — and “plays into that whole title of him being known a poet of the common man.”
(This story has been updated to reflect the historic record on Cash’s concert dates.)
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