He also wrote “Okie From Muskogee” (1969), his best-known recording, a novelty song that was controversial for its apparent attack on hippies. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. The family moved to California from their home in Checotah, Oklahoma, during the Great Depression, after their barn burned in … Merle Haggard performing The Fightin’ Side of Me Following a conviction for burglary, Haggard spent his 21st birthday in the state prison at San Quentin, north of San Francisco. After his release from San Quentin Prison in California in 1960, he turned to music in Bakersfield, which was becoming an important regional country music center.
Beginning with a studio recording of Lefty Frizzell’s “I Love You a Thousand Ways,” the funeral went on to include a handful of performances by some of Haggard’s collaborators and confidantes, including Kris Kristofferson, Connie Smith and former Strangers bandmate Ronnie Reno.Stuart pulled double duty as Smith’s duet partner during an emotional version of Haggard’s own “Silver Wings,” but it was Kristofferson who took the lion’s share of performances, singing his way through a trio of songs that included “Sing Me Back Home.” When a gust of wind scattered several papers containing the song’s lyrics, Kristofferson smiled and quipped, “Merle’d done that on purpose.” Closing out the funeral were Haggard’s three sons — Marty, Noel and Ben — who joined together for a family version of their father’s “Today I Started Loving You Again.” He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and three years later, inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Please try again later.Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the mapPlease check your email and click on the link to activate your account.Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. There was a somber cast to many of the songs he wrote, including “Mama Tried,” “The Bottle Let Me Down,” and “If We Make It Through December" that reflected his difficult youth. Private arrangements were handled by Blair's Cremation & Burial (241-3400). © Copyright 2020 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. A multi-instrumentalist himself, He was known for the high quality and versatility of his accompanying bands, which by the 1970s included some of Wills’s former sidemen. Haggard's parents were Flossie Mae Haggard (née Harp) and James Francis Haggard.
His music ranged from early jazz and country songs to contemporary tunes, and he often recorded the songs of other writers, including western-swing bandleader Bob Wills, one of his inspirations, whom he honored with the album "A Tribute to the Best Damned Fiddle Player in the World" in 1970. Scott Haggard, who was born in December 1968, didn’t meet Merle until around 2005. One of the most popular country music performers of the late 20th Century, he had more than three dozen number one country hits in a musical career that spanned six decades, from the 1960s into the 2010s.
Merle Haggard was laid to rest at a private funeral officiated by Marty Stuart. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and three years later, inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Also arranged by Haggard was the afternoon’s soundtrack. A private funeral service will be held Saturday (April 9) in Palo Cedro, California, for country music legend Merle Haggard, according to The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville. Verify and try again.The email does not appear to be a valid email address. After his release from San Quentin Prison in California in 1960, he turned to music in Bakersfield, which was becoming an important regional country music center.