Merle Haggard, American country music singer/songwriter, Died at 79

  Music

Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6, 1937, and died on April 6, 2016.

He was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, fiddler, and instrumentalist.

Together with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band the Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, this was characterized by the twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country steel guitar sound, new vocal harmony styles in which the words are minimal, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville sound recordings of the same era.

His childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated multiple times in his youth.

However, he turn his life around and meet success in music, gaining popularity with his songs about the working class that occasionally contained themes contrary to the prevailing anti-Vietnam War subject matter of much of the popular music of the time.

By the time it got to the 1970s, Merle Haggard was aligned with the growing outlaw country movement, and he continued to release successful albums through the 1990s and into the 2000s.

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

During 1997, Merle Haggard was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Merle Haggard passed away at 79 yrs old.