Real, pure country music is honest, often downright gritty. The same could be said for Merle Haggard, one of a handful of the most talented and prolific singer-songwriters in the history of country music, or any popular music for that matter! When he died on his 79 th birthday April 6, 2016, there was no doubt that his contributions to the music of the common man are as significant as those of the greatest of his personal heroes and friends, ranging from Jimmie Rodgers, Lefty Frizzell, and Bob Wills to Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and George Jones.
He was an enigmatic man who personified contradictions. As Leona Williams, one of his five wives, said, he had ...