The Life and Work of Merle Haggard: An American Poet

During his career, Merle Haggard accumulated 38 number one singles, eighteen major music awards and composed dozens of songs. Haggard and his band The Strangers helped advance the Bakersfield Sound of the West Coast. While Merle’s music remained traditional country, his music was drawn from various forms of original American music and in the process he developed a distinctive style of his own. He wrote and recorded a body of songs that enabled him to rule the country music charts from the mid-60s through the mid-80s. Merle Haggard was born on April 6, 1937 in Oildale (Bakersfield), California. Haggard’s father died when he was nine years old. During his early teens, Merle began committing petty crimes. His mother tried to rein him in, but Merle was relentless. As a teenager, he became fond of country music and taught himself to play the guitar. Merle continued to have minor skirmishes with the law. After escaping from a juvenile detention center, he went to Modesto, California, where he worked odd jobs and began performing locally. Eventually, as his criminal activity lingered and the severity of his offenses elevated, he was sentenced to San Quentin prison. In 1960, Merle was paroled from prison. After his prison release, Merle began performing again and became a relief singer for a band led by Johnny Barnett at the Lucky Spot club in Bakersfield. From that experience, Merle was able to secure a recording contract with Tally Records. In 1962, Haggard was in Las Vegas …