Merle Ronald Haggard

(April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016)

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Merle Haggard was an American Country Icon. He was a songwriter, singer, guitarist, fiddler, and instrumentalist.

Merle Haggard and his band The Strangers were instrumental in creating the extremely popular Bakersfield sound. The success started in 1965 when Merle won the ACM award for Most Promising Male Vocalist…and he did just that. In 1970, The Hagg  took home Entertainer of the Year from both the Country Music Association AND the Academy of Country Music. By then, Merle had aligned himself with the growing outlaw movement, and continued to release successful albums right up to his last solo album I Am What I Am, which was released in 2010.

In 1994, Merle was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Merle Haggard is often listed as one of the biggest and greatest influences on modern country singers and songwriters. The Hagg’s coined Bakersfield sound was the basis for songs that would eventually become country standards. Singing blue collar, real life anthems like Workin’ Man Blues and If We Make It Through December, built him up as the country great we know. By telling patriotic stories like Okie From Muskogee and sharing autobiographical moments through song like Mama Tried and Branded Man, his audience and the international fan base fell in love with this Country Music Icon.