Merle Haggard

If there was ever a musician whose guitar chops and true grit made him a match for The Man in Black himself, it’s Merle Haggard. A genuine blue-collar badass with the musical legacy to boot, Haggard has forever cemented himself as one of the driving forces in both country music and rock and roll.

In trouble from an early age, Haggard did three years in San Quentin Prison, where a performance by Johnny Cash, and the repeat offenses of a fellow inmate, convinced him to turn his life around. After leaving prison, he began performing classics like “I’m a Lonely Fugitive” and developing the Bakersfield Sound, mixing steel guitar country music, the twang of a Fender Telecaster, and harmonious emotional vocals. But it was his down-home lyrics in “Okie from Muskogee,” an anti-hippie anthem, that cemented Haggard as one of the tougher sons of bitches in country music.

Having worked with Charlie Daniels and Buck Owen, Merle Haggard’s live show is an amalgamation of all things country and American, bringing the masses the down-home music they crave. For any lover of country worth their salt, Merle Haggard is the real deal and a musician whose catalog is worth knowing front to back.