For The Record

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"Merle Haggard, to start with, is a good friend, a good singer, a good musician, and I like hanging out with him. What else can I say?"—Willie Nelson

"After doing his songs while working for tips in clubs, it's great to be singing with the living legend, who, in my opinion, is the greatest singer/songwriter in music."—Randy Owen of Alabama

"There's only one Merle Haggard, and it's an honor to be here with him."—Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn

"Growing up listening to Merle Haggard, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be singing with him."—Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn

"To sing these great songs with Merle Haggard is not only an honor—for he has been a hero of mine as a singer and writer—but it is also a dream come true."—Jewel

"Here is a man with a story to tell. Legendary. An American icon. Merle Haggard. He is a unique man with a fascinating story. We have been friends since the early 1960s. I value his friendship more than any earthly thing. One year ago, I was lying in the hospital, slipping in and out of the coma of death. A man walked quietly into my room. He did not say a word. He walked to my bedside, leaned down and put his arms around me. I lay there for a while, feeling his arms gripping me as if he was afraid he would have to let go. I slightly opened my eyes and said, 'Is that you, Hag?' He just nodded his head. He was only allowed to stay one minute, but that one moment is more precious to me than any time of my life."—Johnny Cash.

With the release of Merle Haggard For The Record, the "Poet of the Common Man" has given his fans the most vibrant and comprehensive collection in his long and laurelled history. Created by TBA Records and distributed and marketed by BNA Records, the album boasts 43 Haggard standards, including all 38 of his No. 1 hits. Enriching this specially recorded projects are Haggard's duet selections with Jewel ("Silver Wings," "That’s The Way Love Goes"), Alabama ("Ramblin’ Fever"), Willie Nelson ("Pancho & Lefty") and Brooks & Dunn ("Movin’ On").

The album is a companion to Haggard's live October 2 pay-per-view special from Las Vegas, which carries the same title and features the same songs. TBA Records decided to release this project based on the fact that Haggard’s life story combined with the depth of his timeless musical accomplishments makes Merle Haggard For The Record a phenomenally interesting and compelling package.

In the ever-expanding array of country music hitmakers, Merle Haggard stands in no one's shadow. But he casts a very long one of his own. Rare is the country artist who has mastered this musical idiom on so many levels. But Haggard has distinguished himself as a singer, a songwriter and a musician—and he has done it all with unimpeachable integrity.

Haggard's life has never been easy. Nor has it been pretty, as he revealed in his 1981 autobiography, Sing Me Back Home. His childhood was spent in Bakersfield, California. The death of his father, when Haggard was just nine years old, became the catalyst of a squandered youth. But he found comfort and a sense of romance in the wandering songs that Jimmie Rodgers and other troubadours sang. They fueled his passion for gleaming, endless railroad tracks, slow freights and hobo jungles.

Unfocused, unruly and unsettled as a teenager, Haggard took on all manners of unskilled jobs—from oil field roustabout to short order cook. He also spent time in various jails for crimes ranging from burglary to auto theft. Before he was 21, and not long after he married his first wife, he was sentenced to serve time in the notorious San Quentin penitentiary for a bungled burglary attempt. But his three years within those gray and desolate walls (including a stint in solitary confinement for making home brew) became the experience that would change his perspective and turn his life around. By the time he ended his stay, he had evolved into a model prisoner. He was paroled in 1960, and 12 years later was granted a full pardon by California governor Ronald Reagan.

By the time Haggard regained his freedom, his marriage was falling apart. Even so, good times loomed just ahead. Although he had made his musical debut at 15—sitting in on a Lefty Frizzell show—it wasn't until after San Quentin that he joined a band. The youngster sang and played rhythm and bass guitar as the group worked the dives on Bakersfield's "Beer Can Hill."

In 1962, Haggard signed to Tally Records, a tiny label owned by his friend Lewis Tally, and began cutting singles in a garage behind Tally's house. His first single release was "Singing My Heart Out." It received some airplay on the West Coast, but it wasn't until 1963 that Haggard had a national hit when his "Sing A Sad Song" climbed into the Top 20 on the Billboard charts. Since then, the country singles charts have been his second home. Realizing that Haggard was destined for bigger things, Tally sold his recording contract to Capitol Records. He initially charted for Capitol in 1965 with "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart That I Can." The next year he scored his first No. 1, "The Fugitive." To date, he has racked up 38 No. 1's and another 33 Top 10's.

As Haggard's recording career gained ground, he turned his perfectionist's eye toward creating his ideal band, The Strangers. His attentiveness paid off. The Strangers have become one of country music's finest road bands. It has won many music industry accolades, including eight top touring band awards from the Academy of Country Music. The group has also recorded several albums of its own.

In 1968, Capitol released "The Legend of Bonnie And Clyde," which, not surprisingly, went to No. 1 on all the trade charts. What was surprising, however, was the enormous popularity of the single's "B" side. With absolutely no promotion or marketing from the label, the side made both the Cash Box and Record World charts. The song that graced the "B" side was "Today I Started Loving You Again." It went on to become one of the most recorded and lucrative compositions of Haggard's career.

With a co-writing assist from band member Eddie Burris, Haggard ventured into the area of social commentary in 1969. Their "Okie From Muskogee" summarized precisely the sentiments of those who detested hippies and war resisters. It established Haggard as a moral traditionalist and laid the groundwork for such other politically tinged songs as "Fightin' Side of Me," "Workin' Man Blues," "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today," "Big City," "Are The Good Times Really Over (I Wish A Buck Was Still Silver" and "Me And Crippled Soldiers."

After more than a decade with Capitol Records, Haggard moved in 1977 to MCA Records. This affiliation led to such hits as "Ramblin' Fever," "If We're Not Back In Love By Monday," "From Graceland To The Promised Land," "I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall" and "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink." In 1981, Haggard signed with Epic Records, where he compiled a long string of No. 1's. In addition to recording such solo hits for Epic as "Big City," "My Favorite Memory," "You Take Me For Granted," "That's The Way Love Goes" and "Let's Chase Each Other Around The Room," he also cut such duet classics as "Yesterday's Wine" (with George Jones), "Pancho And Lefty" (with Willie Nelson) and "A Place To Fall Apart" (with Janie Fricke).

Haggard joined Curb Records in 1990, which resulted the critically esteemed albums Blue Jungle, Merle Haggard 1994 and Merle Haggard 1996. Also in 1996, Capitol Records released Down Every Road, a four-CD box set of essential Haggard music.

On October 5, 1994, Merle Haggard was welcomed into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His plaque now stands shoulder to shoulder with those honoring his musical heroes Jimmie Rodgers, Lefty Frizzell and Bob Wills and his friends Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. But Haggard, himself, is far from being a museum piece. As Merle Haggard For The Record demonstrates, he remains one of the freshest most vigorous voices in country music.