(1937-04-06)April 6, 1937 Oildale, California, U.S.
Died
April 6, 2016(2016-04-06) (aged 79) Palo Cedro, California, U.S.
Genres
Country
outlaw country
Bakersfield sound
Occupation(s)
Singer, songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)
Vocals
guitar
fiddle
Years active
1963–2016
Labels
Capitol
MCA
Epic
Curb
ANTI-
Vanguard
Formerly of
The Strangers
Spouses
Leona Hobbs
(m. 1956; div. 1964)
Bonnie Owens
(m. 1965; div. 1978)
Leona Williams
(m. 1978; div. 1983)
Debbie Parret
(m. 1985; div. 1991)
Theresa Ann Lane
(m. 1993)
Children
6, including Marty and Noel Haggard
Website
merlehaggard.com
Musical artist
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated several times in his youth. After being released from San Quentin State Prison in 1960, he managed to turn his life around and launched a successful country music career. He gained popularity with his songs about the working class; these occasionally contained themes contrary to the anti–Vietnam War sentiment of some popular music of the time. Between the 1960s and the 1980s he had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also made the Billboard all-genre singles chart. Haggard continued to release successful albums into the 2000s.
He received many honors and awards for his music, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010); a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006); a BMI Icon Award (2006);[1] and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977);[2] Country Music Hall of Fame (1994)[3] and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (1997).[4] He died on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—at his ranch in Shasta County, California, having recently suffered from double pneumonia.[5]
^Cite error: The named reference bmiawards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Merle Haggard". Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2016. Induction year: 1977
^"Full List of Inductees". Country Music Hall of Fame. April 6, 1937. Archived from the original on March 31, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^"Inductees". Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^Friskics-Warren, Bill (April 6, 2016). "Merle Haggard, Country Music's Outlaw Hero, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale...
The discography for American country music singer MerleHaggard includes 66 studio albums, five instrumental albums featuring his backing band the Strangers...
A Portrait of MerleHaggard is the tenth studio album by American recording artist MerleHaggard and The Strangers, released September 2, 1969. The album...
Marty Haggard (born June 18, 1958) is an American country music singer. He is the son of singer-songwriter MerleHaggard. Between 1981 and 1987, Haggard charted...
pioneered the Bakersfield sound, while performing artists Buck Owens and MerleHaggard became two of the most successful artists of the original Bakersfield...
composition and performance by Van Zandt, with the Willie Nelson and MerleHaggard version selling the most copies and reaching number one on the Billboard...
Noel Lee Haggard (born September 4, 1963) is an American country music artist. Haggard is the son of country music legend MerleHaggard. He was signed...
primarily in the American Country music tradition. He has performed with MerleHaggard, Dwight Yoakam, Kris Kristofferson, Pete Anderson, Tiny Moore, Roy Nichols...
American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later to MerleHaggard. She was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma, United States...
has been a backing musician for Loretta Lynn and MerleHaggard and The Strangers. (She and Haggard were married between 1978 and 1983.) She also charted...
appeared alongside MerleHaggard in the documentary The American Epic Sessions directed by Bernard MacMahon. They performed a song Haggard had composed for...
artists emerged during this period and dominated the genre: Loretta Lynn, MerleHaggard, Buck Owens, Porter Wagoner, George Jones, and Sonny James among them...
Guitar Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the original steel guitarist in MerleHaggard's band, The Strangers and Waylon Jennings's band, The Waylors. A native...
therapy erased much of his long-term memory. In 1983, Willie Nelson and MerleHaggard covered and popularized Van Zandt's song "Pancho and Lefty", reaching...
Okie from Muskogee is the first live album by MerleHaggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records. The album was a recorded performance...
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