Editing Merle Haggard (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
[[File:Merle Haggard Tally Records - Cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Haggard in a 1961 publicity photo for Tally Records]]
Upon his release from San Quentin in 1960, Haggard began digging ditches for his brother's electrical contracting company. Soon, he was performing again and later began recording with Tally Records. The [[Bakersfield sound]] was developing in the area as a reaction against the overproduced [[Nashville sound]].{{sfn|Cusic|2002|pp=XXIII–XXVI}} Haggard's first record for Tally was "Singing My Heart Out" backed by "Skid Row"; it was not a success, and only 200 copies were pressed. In 1962, Haggard wound up performing at a [[Wynn Stewart]] show in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] and heard Wynn's "Sing a Sad Song". He asked for permission to record it, and the resulting single was a national hit in 1964. The following year, he had his first national top-10 record with "[[(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers]]", written by [[Liz Anderson]], mother of country singer [[Lynn Anderson]], and his career was off and running.{{sfn|Cusic|2002|pp=XXVII–XXVIII}} Haggard recalls having been talked into visiting Anderson—a woman he did not know—at her house to hear her sing some songs she had written. "If there was anything I didn't wanna do, it was sit around some danged woman's house and listen to her cute little songs. But I went anyway. She was a pleasant enough lady, pretty, with a nice smile, but I was all set to be bored to death, even more so when she got out a whole bunch of songs and went over to an old pump organ... There they were. My God, one hit right after another. There must have been four or five number one songs there..."{{sfn|Haggard|Russell|1981}}

In 1967, Haggard recorded "[[I'm a Lonesome Fugitive]]" with [[The Strangers (American band)|the Strangers]], also written by Liz Anderson, with her husband Casey Anderson, which became his first number-one single.<ref name=RS15>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/12-most-badass-merle-haggard-prison-songs-20150406/im-a-lonesome-fugitive-20150406|title=12 Most Badass Merle Haggard Prison Songs|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=April 6, 2015|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref> When the Andersons presented the song to Haggard, they were unaware of his prison stretch.{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|p=103}} [[Bonnie Owens]], Haggard's backup singer and then-wife, is quoted by music journalist Daniel Cooper in the liner notes to the 1994 retrospective ''Down Every Road'': "I guess I didn't realize how much the experience at San Quentin did to him, 'cause he never talked about it all that much ... I could tell he was in a dark mood ... and I said, 'Is everything okay?' And he said, 'I'm really scared.' And I said, 'Why?' And he said, 'Cause I'm afraid someday I'm gonna be out there ... and there's gonna be ... some prisoner ... in there the same time I was in, stand up—and they're gonna be about the third row down—and say, 'What do you think you're doing, 45200?'" Cooper notes that the news had little effect on Haggard's career: "It's unclear when or where Merle first acknowledged to the public that his prison songs were rooted in personal history, for to his credit, he doesn't seem to have made some big splash announcement. In a May 1967 profile in ''Music City News'', his prison record is never mentioned, but in July 1968, in the very same publication, it's spoken of as if it were common knowledge."<ref name="autogenerated1962">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Down Every Road 1962–1994 |title-link=Down Every Road 1962–1994 |others=Merle Haggard |year=1996 |first=Cooper |last=Daniel |type=Liner notes |publisher=[[Capitol Records]] }}</ref>

The 1967 album ''Branded Man'' with [[The Strangers (American band)|the Strangers]] kicked off an artistically and commercially successful run for Haggard. In 2013, Haggard biographer David Cantwell stated, "The immediate successors to ''I'm a Lonesome Fugitive''—''Branded Man'' in 1967 and, in '68, ''[[Sing Me Back Home]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde]]''—were among the finest albums of their respective years."{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|p=125}} Haggard's new recordings showcased his band the Strangers, specifically [[Roy Nichols]]'s [[Telecaster]], [[Ralph Mooney]]'s [[steel guitar]], and the harmony vocals provided by [[Bonnie Owens]].

At the time of Haggard's first top-10 hit "[[(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers]]" in 1965, Owens, who had been married to [[Buck Owens]], was known as a solo performer, a fixture on the [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]] club scene and someone who had appeared on television. She won the new [[Academy of Country Music]]'s first ever award for Female Vocalist after her 1965 debut album, ''Don't Take Advantage of Me'', hit the top five on the country albums chart. However, Bonnie Owens had no further hit singles, and although she recorded six solo albums on Capitol between 1965 and 1970, she became mainly known for her background harmonies on Haggard hits such as "[[Sing Me Back Home (song)|Sing Me Back Home]]" and "Branded Man".<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Queen of the Coast |year=2007 |url=http://www.dekedickerson.com/docs/DekeDickerson-BonnieOwens.doc |first=Deke |last=Dickerson |type=Liner notes |others=[[Bonnie Owens]] |publisher=Bear Family Records |location=Germany |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207091721/http://www.dekedickerson.com/docs/DekeDickerson-BonnieOwens.doc |archive-date=February 7, 2016 }}</ref>

Producer Ken Nelson took a hands-off approach to produce Haggard. In the episode of ''[[American Masters]]'' dedicated to him, Haggard remembers: "The producer I had at that time, Ken Nelson, was an exception to the rule. He called me 'Mr. Haggard' and I was a little twenty-four, twenty-five-year-old punk from Oildale... He gave me complete responsibility. I think if he'd jumped in and said, 'Oh, you can't do that', it would've destroyed me."<ref name=AmericanMasters>{{Cite episode |title=Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/merle-haggard-learning-to-live-with-myself/1545|access-date=April 7, 2016|series=American Masters|series-link=American Masters|first=Merle|last=Haggard|network=[[PBS]]|date=July 21, 2010}}</ref> In the documentary series ''Lost Highway'', Nelson recalls, "When I first started recording Merle, I became so enamored with his singing that I would forget what else was going on, and I suddenly realized, 'Wait a minute, there's musicians here you've got to worry about!' But his songs—he was a great writer."<ref>{{Cite episode|title=Beyond Nashville|series=Lost Highway: The History of American Country|first=Ken|last=Nelson|network=[[BBC]]|date=March 8, 2003|season=1|number=3}}</ref>

Towards the end of the decade, Haggard composed several number-one hits, including "[[Mama Tried (song)|Mama Tried]]", "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde", "Hungry Eyes", and "Sing Me Back Home".{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|p=125}} Daniel Cooper calls "Sing Me Back Home" "a ballad that works on so many different levels of the soul it defies one's every attempt to analyze it".<ref name="autogenerated1962" /> In a 1977 interview in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' with [[Bob Eubanks]], Haggard reflected, "Even though the crime was brutal and the guy was an incorrigible criminal, it's a feeling you never forget when you see someone you know make that last walk. They bring him through the yard, and there's a guard in front and a guard behind—that's how you know a death prisoner. They brought Rabbit out ... taking him to see the Father, ... prior to his execution. That was a strong picture that was left in my mind."  In 1969, Haggard's first tribute LP ''[[Same Train, A Different Time|Same Train, Different Time: A Tribute to Jimmie Rodgers]]'', was also released to acclaim.

In the 1969 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' review for Haggard and the Strangers 1968 album ''Mama Tried'', [[Andy Wickham]] wrote, "His songs romanticize the hardships and tragedies of America's transient proletarian and his success is resultant of his inherent ability to relate to his audience a commonplace experience with precisely the right emotional pitch... Merle Haggard looks the part and sounds the part because he is the part. He's great."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/mama-tried-186689/ |title=Mama Tried |last=Wickham |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Wickham |date=March 1969 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=February 12, 2023}}</ref>

==="Okie from Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side of Me"===
In 1969, Haggard and the Strangers released "[[Okie from Muskogee (song)|Okie From Muskogee]]", with lyrics ostensibly reflecting the singer's pride in being from [[Middle America (United States)|Middle America]], where people are conventionally patriotic and traditionally conservative.<ref>Malone, Bill, ''Country Music U.S.A'', 2nd rev. ed. (University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002), p. 371.</ref> American president [[Richard Nixon]] wrote an appreciative letter to Haggard upon his hearing of the song, and would go on to invite Haggard to perform at the White House several times.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berlau |first=John |date=1996-08-19 |title=The battle over "Okie from Muskogee" |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-battle-over-quotokie-from-muskogee |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Washington Examiner |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Troy |first=Tevi |date=2016-04-07 |title=When Merle Haggard Played at the Nixon White House |url=https://observer.com/2016/04/when-merle-haggard-played-at-the-nixon-white-house/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Observer |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the ensuing years, Haggard gave varying statements regarding whether he intended the song as a humorous satire or a serious political statement in support of conservative values.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chilton |first=Martin |date=April 7, 2016 |title=Merle Haggard: 'Sometimes I Wish I Hadn't Written Okie from Muskogee' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/merle-haggard-sometimes-i-wish-i-hadnt-written-okie-from-muskoge/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/merle-haggard-sometimes-i-wish-i-hadnt-written-okie-from-muskoge/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=April 7, 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In a 2001 interview, Haggard called the song a "documentation of the uneducated that lived in America at the time".{{sfn|Fox|2004|p=51}} However, he made several other statements suggesting that he meant the song seriously. On the ''[[Bob Edwards Show]]'', he said, "I wrote it when I recently got out of the joint. I knew what it was like to lose my freedom, and I was getting really mad at these protesters. They didn't know anything more about the war in Vietnam than I did. I thought how my dad, who was from Oklahoma, would have felt. I felt I knew how those boys fighting in Vietnam felt."<ref name=kaufman>{{cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Will |date=2009 |title=American Culture in the 1970s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vCqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |pages=115–116 |isbn=9780748621422}}</ref> In the country music documentary series ''Lost Highway'', he elaborated: "My dad passed away when I was nine, and I don't know if you've ever thought about somebody you've lost and you say, 'I wonder what so-and-so would think about this?' I was drivin' on [[Interstate 40]] and I saw a sign that said '19 Miles to Muskogee', while at the same time listening to radio shows of ''[[The World Tomorrow (radio and television)|The World Tomorrow]]'' hosted by [[Garner Ted Armstrong]].<ref name="Chapelle2007">{{cite book|first=Peter |last=La Chapelle|title=Proud to Be an Okie: Cultural Politics, Country Music, and Migration to Southern California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbkwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA192|date=3 April 2007|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24889-2|page=192}}</ref> Muskogee was always referred to in my childhood as 'back home.' So I saw that sign and my whole childhood flashed before my eyes and I thought, 'I wonder what dad would think about the youthful uprising that was occurring at the time, the [[Janis Joplin]]s... I understood 'em, I got along with it, but what if he was to come alive at this moment? And I thought, what a way to describe the kind of people in America that are still sittin' in the center of the country sayin', 'What is goin' on on these campuses?'", as it was the subject of this Garner Ted Armstrong radio program. "And a week or so later, I was listening to Garner Ted Armstrong, and Armstrong was saying how the smaller colleges in smaller towns don't seem to have any problems.  And I wondered if Muskogee had a college, and it did, and they hadn't had any trouble - no racial problems and no dope problems. The whole thing hit me in two minutes, and I did one line after another and got the whole thing done in 20 minutes."<ref name="Chapelle2007" /><ref>{{Cite episode |title=Beyond Nashville |series=Lost Highway: The History of American Country |first=Merle |last=Haggard |network=[[BBC]] |date=March 8, 2003 |season=1 |number=3 |language=en}}</ref> In the ''[[American Masters]]'' documentary about him, he said, "That's how I got into it with the hippies... I thought they were unqualified to judge America, and I thought they were lookin' down their noses at something that I cherished very much, and it pissed me off. And I thought, 'You sons of bitches, you've never been restricted away from this great, wonderful country, and yet here you are in the streets bitchin' about things, protesting about a war that they didn't know any more about than I did. They weren't over there fightin' that war any more than I was."<ref name=AmericanMasters />

Haggard began performing the song in concert in 1969 and was astounded at the reaction it received:

{{blockquote|The Haggard camp knew they were on to something. Everywhere they went, every show, "Okie" did more than prompt enthusiastic applause. There was an unanticipated adulation racing through the crowds now, standing ovations that went on and on and sometimes left the audience and the band members alike teary-eyed. Merle had somehow stumbled upon a song that expressed previously inchoate fears, spoke out loud gripes and anxieties otherwise only whispered, and now people were using his song, were using ''him'', to connect themselves to these larger concerns and to one another.{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|page=151}}}}

The studio version, which was mellower than the usually raucous live-concert versions, topped the country charts in 1969 and remained there for a month.{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|page=152}} It also hit number 41 on the ''Billboard'' all-genre singles chart, becoming Haggard's biggest hit up to that time, surpassed only by his 1973 crossover Christmas hit, "[[If We Make It Through December]]", which peaked at number 28.<ref name=hagbillboardchartp1 /> "Okie from Muskogee" is also generally described as Haggard's [[signature song]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 10 Merle Haggard Songs|url=http://tasteofcountry.com/merle-haggard-songs|website=Tasteofcountry.com|publisher=[[Townsquare Media|Taste of Country]]|access-date=April 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103032651/http://tasteofcountry.com/merle-haggard-songs|archive-date=January 3, 2016}}</ref>

On his next single, "[[The Fightin' Side of Me]]", released by his record company in 1970 over Haggard's objections, Haggard's lyrics stated that he did not mind the counterculture "switchin' sides and standin' up for what they believe in", but resolutely declared, "If you don't love it, leave it!" In May 1970, Haggard explained to John Grissom of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', "I don't like their views on life, their filth, their visible self-disrespect, y'know. They don't give a shit what they look like or what they smell like... What do they have to offer humanity?"{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|p=154}} In a 2003 interview with ''[[No Depression (magazine)|No Depression]]'' magazine, Haggard said, "I had different views in the '70s. As a human being, I've learned [more]. I have more culture now. I was dumb as a rock when I wrote 'Okie From Muskogee'. That's being honest with you at the moment, and a lot of things that I said [then] I sing with a different intention now. My views on marijuana have totally changed. I think we were brainwashed and I think anybody that doesn't know that needs to get up and read and look around, get their own information. It's a cooperative government project to make us think marijuana should be outlawed."<ref>{{cite web|last=McLenan|first=Andy|url=http://nodepression.com/article/merle-haggard-branded-man|title=Merle Haggard – Branded man|publisher=nodepression.com|date=October 31, 2003|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

Haggard had wanted to follow "Okie from Muskogee" with "[[Irma Jackson]]", a song that dealt with an interracial romance between a white man and an African American woman. His producer, [[Ken Nelson (United States record producer)|Ken Nelson]], discouraged him from releasing it as a single.<ref name="autogenerated1962" /> Jonathan Bernstein recounts, "Hoping to distance himself from the harshly right-wing image he had accrued in the wake of the hippie-bashing "Muskogee", Haggard wanted to take a different direction and release "Irma Jackson" as his next single... When the Bakersfield, California, native brought the song to his record label, executives were reportedly appalled. In the wake of "Okie", Capitol Records was not interested in complicating Haggard's conservative, blue-collar image."<ref name=RS>{{cite magazine|last=Bernstein|first=Jonathan|title=Flashback: Merle Haggard Reluctantly Unveils 'The Fightin' Side of Me'|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=December 23, 2014| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/flashback-merle-haggard-reluctantly-unveils-the-fightin-side-of-me-20141223| access-date = April 7, 2016}}</ref>

After "The Fightin' Side of Me" was released instead, Haggard later commented to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', "People are narrow-minded. Down South they might have called me a nigger lover."{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|p=162}} In a 2001 interview, Haggard stated that Nelson, who was also head of the country division at Capitol at the time, never interfered with his music, but "this one time he came out and said, 'Merle, I don't believe the world is ready for this yet.' ... And he might have been right. I might've canceled out where I was headed in my career."<ref name="autogenerated1962" /><ref name=RS />

"Okie From Muskogee", "The Fightin' Side of Me", and "I Wonder If They Think of Me" (Haggard's 1973 song about an American [[POW]] in Vietnam) were hailed as anthems of the [[silent majority]], and have been recognized as part of a recurring patriotic trend in American country music that also includes [[Charlie Daniels]]' "In America" and [[Lee Greenwood]]'s "[[God Bless the USA]]".<ref>{{cite news|last=Edwards|first=Joe|date=November 7, 1985|title=Country Music Salutes Old Glory|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/11/07/country-music-salutes-old-glory/|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Dickinson|first=Chris|date=December 19, 2001|title=Response to Sept. 11 a Natural for Country Singers|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-19-et-dickinson19-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> Although [[Gordon Friesen]] of ''Broadside'' magazine criticized Haggard for his "[[John Birch Society|<nowiki>[</nowiki>John<nowiki>]</nowiki> Birch–type]] songs against war dissenters", Haggard was popular with college students in the early 1970s, not only because of the ironic use of his songs by [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]] members, but also because his music was recognized as coming from an early country-folk tradition. Both "Okie from Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side of Me" received extensive airplay on underground radio stations, and "Okie" was performed in concert by [[protest song|protest singer]]s [[Arlo Guthrie]] and [[Phil Ochs]].<ref name=kaufman />

===Later career===
[[File:Merle Haggard 1975 - cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Haggard in a 1975 publicity photo for Capitol Records]]

Haggard's 1970 LP ''[[A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)|A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World]]'', dedicated to [[Bob Wills]], helped spark a permanent revival and expanded the audience for [[western swing]].<ref name=Hicks /><ref name =WillsCMT /> By this point, Haggard was one of the most famous country singers in the world, having enjoyed an immensely successful artistic and commercial run with Capitol, accumulating 24 number-one country singles since 1966.

In 1972, ''Let Me Tell You about A Song'', the first TV special starring Haggard, was nationally syndicated by Capital Cities TV Productions. It was a semi-autobiographical musical profile of Haggard, akin to the contemporary ''Behind the Music'', produced and directed by Michael Davis. The 1973 [[recession]] anthem, "[[If We Make It Through December]]", furthered Haggard's status as a champion of the working class. "If We Make It Through December" turned out to be Haggard and the Strangers' final crossover pop hit.

Haggard appeared on the cover of ''TIME'' on May 6, 1974.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19740506,00.html|title=TIME magazine cover|date=May 6, 1974|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|publisher=TIME|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> He also wrote and performed the theme song to the television series ''[[Movin' On (TV series)|Movin' On]]'', which in 1975 gave him and the Strangers another [[Movin' On (Merle Haggard song)|number-one country hit]].{{sfn|Whitburn|2006| p=147}} During the early-to-mid-1970s, Haggard and the Strangers country chart domination continued with songs such as  "Someday We'll Look Back", "[[Grandma Harp]]", "[[Always Wanting You]]", and "[[The Roots of My Raising]]". Between 1973 and 1976, he and the Strangers scored nine consecutive number-one country hits. 

Haggard appeared in an episode of ''[[The Waltons]]'' titled "The Comeback", season five, episode three, original air-date October 10, 1976.  He played a bandleader named Red, who had been depressed since the death of his son (Ron Howard).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allaboutthewaltons.com/ep-s5/s05-03.php|title=The Waltons s5-ep3 - The Comeback|website=Allaboutthewaltons.com|access-date=2019-07-25}}</ref>

In 1977, he switched to [[MCA Records]] and began exploring the themes of depression, alcoholism, and middle age on albums such as ''[[Serving 190 Proof]]'' and ''[[The Way I Am (Merle Haggard album)|The Way I Am]]''. Haggard sang a duet cover of [[Billy Burnette]]'s "What's A Little Love Between Friends" with [[Lynda Carter]] in her 1980 television music special, ''Lynda Carter: Encore!'' In 1980, Haggard headlined the ''[[Bronco Billy]]'' soundtrack alongside [[Ronnie Milsap]], which saw Haggard score a number-one hit with "[[Bar Room Buddies]]", a duet with actor [[Clint Eastwood]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wideopencountry.com/tip-one-back-to-merle-haggard-and-clint-eastwoods-unlikely-hit-bar-room-buddies/|title='Bar Room Buddies': The Unlikely Clint Eastwood, Merle Haggard Hit From 'Bronco Billy'|first=Addie|last=Moore|website=Wideopencountry.com|date=February 6, 2021|access-date=April 6, 2025}}</ref>

In 1981, Haggard published an autobiography, ''Sing Me Back Home''. The same year, he provided the narration and theme for the movie ''[[The Legend of the Lone Ranger]]''. The movie did not perform as well as expected attributing its commercial failure to the Wrather/Moore dispute which generated negative publicity. Haggard also changed record labels again in 1981, moving to Epic and releasing one of his most critically acclaimed albums, ''[[Big City (Merle Haggard album)|Big City]]'', on which he was backed by the Strangers.

Between 1981 and 1985, Haggard scored 12 more top-10 country hits, with nine of them reaching number one, including "My Favorite Memory", "Going Where the Lonely Go", "Someday When Things Are Good", and "Natural High".  In addition, Haggard recorded two chart-topping duets with [[George Jones]]—"Yesterdays' Wine" in 1982—and with [[Willie Nelson]]—"Pancho and Lefty" in 1983. Nelson believed the 1983 [[Academy Award]]-winning film ''[[Tender Mercies]]'', about the life of fictional singer Mac Sledge, was based on the life of Merle Haggard.  Actor [[Robert Duvall]] and other filmmakers denied this and claimed the character was based on nobody in particular. Duvall, however, said he was a big fan of Haggard's.<ref>{{Cite AV media|people=[[Robert Duvall]] (actor), Gary Hertz (director)|date=April 16, 2002|title= Miracles & Mercies|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383509/ |medium=Documentary|publisher=[[Blue Underground]] |location=[[West Hollywood]]|access-date=January 28, 2008}}</ref>

In 1983, Haggard and his third wife Leona Williams divorced after five stormy years of marriage. The split served as a license to party for Haggard, who spent much of the next decade becoming mired in alcohol and drug problems.<ref name=heath />{{sfn|Cantwell|2013|p=230}} Haggard has stated that he was in his own [[mid-life crisis]], or "male menopause", around this time. He said in an interview from this period: "Things that you've enjoyed for years don't seem nearly as important, and you're at war with yourself as to what's happening.  'Why don't I like that anymore?  Why do I like this now?' And finally, I think you actually go through a biological change, you just, you become another... Your body is getting ready to die and your mind doesn't agree."<ref name=AmericanMasters /> He was briefly a heavy user of cocaine but was able to quit.<ref name=heath /> Despite these issues, he won a [[Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance]] for his 1984 remake of "[[That's the Way Love Goes (Johnny Rodriguez song)|That's the Way Love Goes]]".

Haggard was hampered by financial woes well into the 1990s, as his presence on the charts diminished in favor of newer country singers, such as [[George Strait]] and [[Randy Travis]]. Haggard's last number-one hit was "[[Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star]]" from his smash album ''Chill Factor'' in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thanki|first=Juli|title=Merle Haggard dead at 79|url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/04/06/merle-haggard-dead-at-age-79/81272486|publisher=thetennessean.com|date=April 6, 2016|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

In 1989, Haggard recorded a song, "Me and Crippled Soldiers Give a Damn", in response to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]'s decision not to allow banning flag burning, considering it to be "speech" and therefore protected under the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]. After CBS Records Nashville avoided releasing the song, Haggard bought his way out of the contract and signed with [[Curb Records]], which was willing to release the song. Haggard commented about the situation, "I've never been a guy that can do what people told me... It's always been my nature to fight the system."<ref name="Traditional Values NYT">{{cite news|last=Schoemer|first=Karen|title=Pop/Jazz; A Maverick Upholding Traditional Values|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/06/arts/pop-jazz-a-maverick-upholding-traditional-values.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|access-date=October 19, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 6, 1990}}</ref>

===Comeback===
[[File:MerleHaggardJun09.jpg|thumb|Haggard performing in June 2009|upright]]
In 2000, Haggard made a comeback of sorts, signing with the independent record label Anti and releasing the spare ''If I Could Only Fly'' to critical acclaim. He followed it in 2001 with ''Roots, vol. 1'', a collection of [[Lefty Frizzell]], [[Hank Williams]], and [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]] covers, along with three Haggard originals. The album, recorded in Haggard's living room with no overdubs, featured Haggard's longtime bandmates, the Strangers, as well as Frizzell's original lead guitarist, Norman Stephens. In December 2004, Haggard spoke at length on ''[[Larry King Live]]'' about his incarceration as a young man and said it was "hell" and "the scariest experience of my life".<ref>{{cite web|title=A Look at San Quentin|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/16/lkl.01.html|publisher=CNN|date=December 16, 2004|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

When political opponents were attacking [[the Chicks]] for criticizing President [[George W. Bush]]'s [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Haggard spoke up for the band on July 25, 2003, saying:

{{blockquote|I don't even know the Dixie Chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0725-02.htm|title=New Merle Haggard Tune Blasts US Media Coverage of Iraq War|publisher=Commondreams.org|date=July 25, 2003|access-date=December 26, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627174824/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0725-02.htm|archive-date=June 27, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/merle-haggard-sounds-off/|work=CBS News|title=Merle Haggard Sounds Off|date=July 25, 2003}}</ref>}}

Haggard and the Strangers' number-one hit single "Mama Tried" is featured in Bryan Bertino's ''The Strangers'' with Liv Tyler. In addition, his and the Strangers song "Swingin' Doors" can be heard in the film ''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash (2004)]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/soundtrack|title=Crash (2004)—Soundtracks|website=imdb.com|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> and his 1981 hit "[[Big City (Merle Haggard song)|Big City]]", where he is backed by the Strangers, is heard in Joel and Ethan Coen's film ''[[Fargo (1996 film)|Fargo]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Merle Haggard—"Big City"|newspaper=Billings Gazette|location=Billings, Montana|date=May 21, 2015|url=http://billingsgazette.com/merle-haggard---big-city/youtube_14088077-f574-5720-8d8d-5b085d40390b.html|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>

{{Quote_box|width=20%|align=left|quote=He's not going to play The Palace in Louisville, he's going pick the tertiary towns, and he's going to play on the outer edge. Merle was a real westerner. Like one of those lizards that thrives in arid heat. He was a California guy, but not the California you see on television with Palm Trees. He was the California that was dusty, that was Merle's.<ref name="Owen13.04.16">{{cite news|last1=Owen|first1=Brent|title=Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show on Merle Haggard, puking in a hotel elevator in Louisville and 'Wagon Wheel'|url=http://www.leoweekly.com/2016/04/28376|access-date=14 April 2016|publisher=Leo Weekly|date=13 April 2016}}</ref>|source= — Ketch Secor, [[Old Crow Medicine Show]]}}

In October 2005, Haggard released his album ''[[Chicago Wind (Merle Haggard album)|Chicago Wind]]'' to mostly positive reviews. The album contained an anti-Iraq war song titled "America First", in which he laments the nation's economy and faltering infrastructure, applauds its soldiers, and sings, "Let's get out of Iraq, and get back on track." This follows from his 2003 release "Haggard Like Never Before" in which he includes a song, "That's the News".
Haggard released a [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] album, ''[[The Bluegrass Sessions (Merle Haggard album)|The Bluegrass Sessions]]'', on October 2, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/merle-haggards-new-release-bluegrass-sessions/|title=Merle Haggard's New Release – Bluegrass Sessions|website=bluegrasstoday.com|date=September 25, 2007|access-date=March 21, 2020}}</ref>

In 2008, Haggard was going to perform at Riverfest in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], but the concert was canceled because he was ailing, and three other concerts were canceled, as well. However, he was back on the road in June and successfully completed a tour that ended on October 19, 2008.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}

In April 2010, Haggard released a new album, ''[[I Am What I Am (Merle Haggard album)|I Am What I Am]]'',<ref>{{cite web|last=See|first=Elena|title=First Listen: Merle Haggard, 'I Am What I Am'|date=April 12, 2010|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125636724&sc=fb&cc=fp|website=Npr.org|access-date=July 22, 2010}}</ref> to strong reviews, and he performed the title song on ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' in February 2011.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|title=Merle Haggard Reflects On Old Age and God on Leno|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/merle-haggard-reflects-on-old-age-and-god-on-leno-20110209|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=February 9, 2011|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref> Haggard's final concert was held in Oakland at the Paramount Theatre on February 13, 2016.

===Collaborations===
Haggard collaborated with many other artists over the course of his career.  In the early 1960s, Haggard recorded duets with Bonnie Owens, who later became his wife, for Tally Records, scoring a minor hit with "Just Between the Two of Us". As part of the deal that got Haggard signed to Capitol, producer [[Ken Nelson (United States record producer)|Ken Nelson]] obtained the rights to Haggard's Tally sides, including the duets with Owens, resulting in the release of Haggard's first duet album with Owens and the Strangers in 1966, also entitled ''Just Between the Two of Us''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Deming|title=''Just Between the Two of Us'' > Review|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id= mw0000095068|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> The album reached number four on the country charts, and Haggard and Owens recorded a number of additional duets before their divorce in 1978. Haggard went on to record duets with George Jones, Willie Nelson, and Clint Eastwood, among others.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Eddy|first=Chuck|display-authors=etal|title=Merle Haggard: Biography|magazine=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/merle-haggard/biography|access-date=April 7, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402021113/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/merle-haggard/biography|archive-date=April 2, 2016}}</ref>

In 1970, Haggard released ''A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)'', rounding up six of the remaining members of the Texas Playboys to record the tribute: Johnnie Lee Wills, Eldon Shamblin, Tiny Moore, Joe Holley, Johnny Gimble, and Alex Brashear.<ref name =Hicks>{{cite magazine|last=Hicks|first=Dan|title=A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or My Salute to Bob Wills)|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=October 26, 1972|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/a-tribute-to-the-best-damn-fiddle-player-in-the-world-or-my-salute-to-bob-wills-19721026|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> Haggard's band, the Strangers, were also present during the recording, but Wills suffered a massive stroke after the first day of recording. Haggard arrived on the second day, devastated that he would not get to record with him, but the album helped return Wills to public consciousness, and set off a Western swing revival.<ref name =WillsCMT>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/bob-wills/biography/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627110957/http://www.cmt.com/artists/bob-wills/biography|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 27, 2013|title=Bob Wills Bio|website=[[CMT (American TV channel)|CMT]]|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> Haggard did other tribute albums to Bob Wills over the next 40 years. In 1973 he appeared on ''For the Last Time: Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys''. In 1994, Haggard collaborated with [[Asleep at the Wheel]] and many other artists influenced by the music of Bob Wills on an album titled ''A Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Menconi|first=David|title=Asleep at the Wheel Ready All-Star Bob Wills Tribute With Help From Avetts, Willie Nelson|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=December 10, 2014|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/asleep-at-the-wheel-ready-all-star-bob-wills-tribute-with-help-from-avetts-willie-nelson-20141210|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> ''A Tribute'' was re-released on CD on the Koch label in 1995.

In 1972, Haggard agreed to produce [[Gram Parsons]]'s first solo album but backed out at the last minute. [[Warner Bros.]] arranged a meeting at Haggard's Bakersfield home and the two musicians seemed to hit it off, but later on the afternoon of the first session, Haggard canceled. Parsons, an enormous Haggard fan, was crushed, with his wife Gretchen telling Meyer, "Merle not producing Gram was probably one of the greatest disappointments in Gram's life. Merle was very nice, very sweet, but he had his own enemies and his own demons."<ref name=meyer>{{cite book|last=Meyer|first=David N.|date=2007|edition=2008 reprint|title=Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82Tdf-s1C-kC|location=New York City|publisher=Villard Books|page=358|isbn=978-0345503367}}</ref> In 1980, Haggard said of Parsons, in an interview with Mark Rose, "He was a pussy. Hell, he was just a long-haired kid. I thought he was a good writer. He was not wild, though. That's what's funny to me. All these guys running around in long hair talking about being wild and [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]]. I don't think someone abusing themselves on drugs determines how wild they are. It might determine how ignorant they are."<ref name=meyer />

In 1982, Haggard recorded ''[[A Taste of Yesterday's Wine]]'' with George Jones, an album that produced two [[Record chart|top-10]] hits, including the number-one "[[Yesterday's Wine (song)|Yesterday's Wine]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Shewey|first=Don|title=A Taste of Yesterday's Wine|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=March 3, 1983|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/a-taste-of-yesterdays-wine-19830303|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>  In 2006, the pair released a sequel, ''[[Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nodepression.com/album-review/george-jones-and-merle-haggard-kickin-out-footlightsagain|title=George Jones And Merle Haggard – Kickin Out The Footlights...Again|date=December 31, 2006|website=nodepression.com|access-date=April 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827044041/http://nodepression.com/album-review/george-jones-and-merle-haggard-kickin-out-footlightsagain|archive-date=August 27, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Haggard released the duet album ''[[Pancho & Lefty (album)|Pancho & Lefty]]'' with [[Willie Nelson]] in 1983, with the title track becoming an enormous hit for the duo. In 1987, a second, less successful LP, ''[[Seashores of Old Mexico]]'', was also released, and the pair worked together again with [[Ray Price (musician)|Ray Price]] in 2007, releasing the album ''[[Last of the Breed (album)|Last of the Breed]]''. In 2015, they released their sixth and final duet album, ''[[Django and Jimmie]]''. The album's lead single, "[[It's All Going to Pot]]", was a subtle reference to smoking marijuana, and the music video for the song showed Haggard and Nelson smoking joints while singing in a recording studio.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hudak |first=Joseph |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/see-willie-nelson-and-merle-haggard-share-a-joint-in-new-video-20150420 |title=See Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard Share a Joint in New Video |magazine=Rollingstone.com |date=April 20, 2015 |access-date=June 2, 2015}}</ref>

In 1983, Haggard got permission from Epic Records to collaborate with then-wife [[Leona Williams]] on [[Polydor Records]], releasing ''[[Heart to Heart (Merle Haggard album)|Heart to Heart]]'' in 1983.  The album, on which they were backed by the Strangers, was not a hit, peaking at number 44.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/heart-to-heart-mw0000898987|title=Heart to Heart|website=allmusic.com|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>

In 2001, Haggard released an album of gospel songs with [[Albert E. Brumley]] called ''Two Old Friends''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/two-old-friends-mw0000587708|title=Two Old Friends|website=allmusic.com|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> In 2002, Haggard collaborated with longtime friend and fellow recording artist [[Chester Smith]] (founder of television broadcasting company [[Sainte Partners II, L.P.]] and owner of several stations in California and Oregon) with a CD titled ''California Blend''.<ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/album/california-blend-mw0000224943 Review] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916215116/http://www.allmusic.com/album/california-blend-mw0000224943 |date=September 16, 2016 }}, AllMusic.com; accessed August 17, 2016.</ref> The CD features classic country, western, and gospel tracks performed by both Smith and Haggard.

In 2005, Haggard was featured as a guest vocalist on [[Gretchen Wilson]]'s song "Politically Uncorrect", which earned a [[Grammy Award|Grammy nomination]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals|Best Country Collaboration with Vocals]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Gretchen Wilson|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AA3052|title=Gretchen Wilson: All Jacked Up: Music|website=Amazon|access-date=June 2, 2015}}</ref> He is also featured singing a verse on [[Eric Church]]'s 2006 song "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag".<ref name=yahr>{{cite news|last=Yahr|first=Emily|date=April 6, 2016|title=Merle Haggard May Have Hated Modern Country Music, But the Singers Loved Him|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/04/06/merle-haggard-may-have-hated-modern-country-music-but-the-singers-loved-him|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>

In 2005, Haggard was featured as a guest vocalist on [[Blaine Larsen]]'s song "If Merle Would Sing My Song".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering Merle Haggard |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/music-theater-dance/2016/04/08/Remembering-Merle-Legend-influenced-generations-of-musicians/stories/feed/index.rss |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=The Blade |language=en}}</ref>

In 2010, Haggard was featured along with [[Ralph Nader]], [[Willie Nelson]], [[Gatewood Galbraith]] and [[Julia Butterfly Hill]] in the documentary film ''[[Hempsters: Plant the Seed]]'' directed by Michael P. Henning.<ref name=420mag>{{citation|url=https://www.420magazine.com/2013/12/hempsters-plant-seed-dvd-review/ |date=December 21, 2013|title=Hempsters: Plant the Seed – DVD Review|work=420 magazine}}</ref>

In 2015, Haggard was featured as a guest vocalist on [[Don Henley]]'s song "The Cost of Living" on the album ''[[Cass County (album)|Cass County]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Passey |first=Brian |title=Eagles singer Don Henley goes country on Cass County |url=https://www.thespectrum.com/story/entertainment/music/backbeat/2015/10/21/eagles-singer-don-henley-goes-country-cass-county/74315928/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=The Spectrum |language=en-US}}</ref> Henley would later say he was "nervous", but "happily surprised" that Haggard joined him on the track.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickinson |first=Chrissie |date=2016-08-09 |title=Don Henley sized up Merle Haggard, and got nervous |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/08/09/don-henley-sized-up-merle-haggard-and-got-nervous/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2017, Haggard appeared alongside [[Willie Nelson]] in the award-winning documentary ''[[The American Epic Sessions]]'' directed by [[Bernard MacMahon (filmmaker)|Bernard MacMahon]]. They performed a song Haggard had composed for the film, "The Only Man Wilder Than Me"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/watch-willie-nelson-merle-haggard-studio-new-footage/|title=Watch Willie Nelson And Merle Haggard in The Studio in All-New Footage|date=2017-06-06|work=Texas Monthly|access-date=2018-02-27|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2017/06/05/performers-american-epic-sessions|title=The Performers in 'The American Epic Sessions'|date=2017-06-06|work=WTTW Chicago Public Media - Television and Interactive|access-date=2018-02-27|language=en-US}}</ref> and [[Bob Wills]]' classic "Old Fashioned Love",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0556hn2|title=Willie Nelson and the late Merle Haggard - Old Fashioned Love, The Sessions, American Epic, Arena - BBC Four|website=BBC|date=June 7, 2017 |language=en-GB|access-date=2018-02-27}}</ref> which they recorded live on the restored first [[History of sound recording#The electrical era (1925 to 1945) (including sound on film)|electrical sound recording]] system from the 1920s.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/05/american-epic-return-of-the-lathe/|title=The Long-Lost, Rebuilt Recording Equipment That First Captured the Sound of America|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2018-02-27|language=en-US}}</ref> It was the last filmed performance of the pair, with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' commenting "in the final performance of Sessions, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard perform the duet "The Only Man Wilder Than Me". Haggard has a look of complete joy on his face throughout the session in the old-timey recording set-up once used by his musical heroes."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/american-epic-inside-jack-whites-new-roots-music-doc-w482170|title='American Epic': Inside Jack White and Friends' New Roots-Music Doc|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2018-02-27|archive-date=December 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230152/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/american-epic-inside-jack-whites-new-roots-music-doc-w482170|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Haggard's last recording, a song called "Kern River Blues", described his departure from Bakersfield in the late 1970s and his displeasure with politicians. The song was recorded February 9, 2016, and features his son Ben on guitar. This record was released on May 12, 2016.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/merle-haggards-last-song-kern-river-blues-set-for-release-20160511 Merle Haggard's last song released] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611145326/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/merle-haggards-last-song-kern-river-blues-set-for-release-20160511 |date=June 11, 2016 }}, rollingstone.com; accessed August 17, 2016.</ref>