Merle Haggard is dead. The country music icon died on Wednesday April 6, on his 79th birthday. Haggard had cancelled a string of concerts over the past several months as he battled double pneumonia.
Merle Haggard was a pioneer in creating the Bakersfield Sound with his band The Strangers and friend and fellow country music artist Buck Owens.
Before embarking on a career in music Merle spent time in San Quentin and eventually his enormous influence in music earned him a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994. In a career that spanned 50 years Merle recorded 40 number one country singles.
The man from Bakersfield spent much of his youth and teen years in and out of juvenile detention centers for shoplifting, petty larceny and truancy. An attempted armed robbery landed Merle in San Quentin from 1957 until 1960.
Two years later Merle released his debut single, Skid Row closely followed by Sing Me a Sad Song which was the singer/songwriter’s first top 20 hit. The first of Merle’s songs to hit number one on the country charts was I’m a Lonesome Fugitive.
In 1969 Haggard brought the Bakersfield Sound to the pop charts with “Okie from Muskogee.” It was a career-changing song that spent four weeks at number one on the country charts.
Merle Haggard was married five times. One of Merle’s wives was Bonnie Owens, his friend Buck Owen’s ex-wife. Merle was father to six children, Dana, Marty, Kelli, Noel, Jenessa and Ben.
Haggard’s edgy bluegrass music opened the door another genre of country music referred to as outlaw country. He was extremely vocal about his dislike of modern country music but praised artists such as Randy Travis, George Strait, Toby Keith and Alan Jackson.
Not only was Merle Haddard inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 2010 he accepted a lifetime achievement Kennedy Center Honors award for his outstanding contribution to American culture.
In 2013 he California State University, Bakersfield, honored Haggard for his contributions to the arts with the honorary degree, Doctor of Fine Arts
CDL offers sincerest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and fans of Merle Haggard.
