In the song by Merle Haggard the singer was proud to be a what from Muskogee?
"his career. As noted by an article published in ""The Washington Post"" upon Haggard's death, ""Respect for the Hag [Haggard] as an icon, both for his musical status and his personal views, is a common theme"" in country music. Many country music acts have paid tribute to Haggard by mentioning him in their songs (a fact aided by his first name rhyming with ""girl,"" a common theme in country songs). These include: In the 1970s, several rock acts responded in their own songs to Haggard's criticism of hippie counterculture in ""Okie from Muskogee"" and ""The Fightin' Side of Me"". The"
"in the United States Army Special Forces, which was one of the very few songs of the era to cast the military in a positive light and yet become a major hit. Merle Haggard & the Strangers's ""Okie from Muskogee"" (1969), despite being strongly nationalistic, was listed in PopMatters's July 2007 list of the top 65 protest songs because it is, as the webzine puts it, in fact a protest against changing social mores, alternative lifestyles, and, well, protests [...] In a time when protest songs filled the airwaves, it is ironic that Haggard scored his biggest hit protesting the"
"from Muskogee,"" ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" immediately broke in popularity when released in January 1970. The song reached No. 1 on the ""Billboard magazine"" Hot Country Singles chart, where it remained for three weeks. It also charted in the lower regions of the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 chart. In addition to the studio version of the song, a live version of ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" was issued as part of Haggard's live album of the same name. In 1970, ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" was nominated for Song of the Year and Single of the Year by the Country"
"The Fightin' Side of Me (album) The Fightin' Side of Me is the second live album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1970. Like the song ""Okie from Muskogee"" led to a quickly released album, ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" was also quickly released because of the run of success of Haggard's patriotic hit single ""The Fightin' Side of Me"". The success of ""Okie from Muskogee"" brought Haggard's music to the attention of listeners and performers outside the country music field. The Byrds, for example, had already been performing his songs in concert, and counterculture legends the Grateful"
"Pride in What I Am Pride in What I Am is the eighth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released in 1969 on Capitol Records. After scoring four number-one hits in a row, the single ""I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"" peaked at number 3 on the ""Billboard"" country singles chart. The song is a first person narration by a homeless drifter who laments his lonely, rootless existence but at the same time celebrates ""living off the side of our great land..."" as he defiantly proclaims, ""Things I learned in a hobo jungle are"
"From Muskogee"" and ""The Fightin' Side of Me"".. The song's popularity has increased after the September 11 attacks. Frye Gaillard has described the song as a ""poignant pledge of allegiance"". ""The Sunday Herald"" has described it as ""a defiant tribute to the stars and stripes"". It has also been described as an ""anti-flag burning"" song. At the first Americana Music Awards in September 2002, Cash added references to Operation Desert Storm and Afghanistan. During live performances, Cash usually introduces the song with the following: ""Ragged Old Flag"" is recited at events around the country. It has been played by the"
"Big City (Merle Haggard song) ""Big City"" is a song recorded by American country music singer Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers. Co-written by Haggard and Dean Holloway, the song was released in January 1982 as the second single and title track from his album ""Big City"". In April, the song was his 27th number-one single on the ""Billboard"" Hot Country Singles chart. The song was inspired by a remark by Dean Holloway, Haggard's lifelong friend and tour bus driver. At the end of a packed two-day recording session at Britannia Studios in Los Angeles, Haggard went to the bus"
"in the episode called ""The Gift"". Section reference: Academy of Country Music BMI Awards Country Music Association Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Grammy Awards Kennedy Center Honors Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band the Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country steel guitar sound, new vocal harmony styles in"
"Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band the Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is 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. Haggard's childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated several times in"
"The Fightin' Side of Me ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in December 1969 as the first single and title track from the album ""The Fightin' Side of Me"". The song became one of the most famous of his career. In reference to his own 2002 patriot song, ""Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American),"" Toby Keith once called this song ""the original ""Angry American"" song."" Like ""Okie from Muskogee,"" ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" catered to the conservative"
"campaign in the 1960s to popularize ""Okie"" as a positive term for Oklahomans; however, the Democrats used the campaign, and the fact that Bartlett was born in Ohio, as a political tool against him, and further degraded the term for some time. In 1968, Governor Bartlett made Reddick, the originator of the California usage, an honorary Okie. And in the early 1970s, Merle Haggard's country song ""Okie from Muskogee"" was a hit on national airwaves. Also during the 1970s, the term Okie became familiar to most Californians as a prototype of a subcultural group, just like the resurgence of Southern"
"to pick crops, including cotton. At 16, Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1951 where he and other musicians began to create what is now known as the Bakersfield sound. One of those musicians was Merle Haggard, who was born and raised in Oildale, California. In 1962, Haggard completed his first single, ""Skid Row,"" on Bakersfield's Tally label. In 1965, he went on to sign with Capitol Records. Most of Haggard's early songs reflect his time spent in prison, farming, and working blue collar jobs in Southern California, including Bakersfield. It is in Bakersfield where country music was born. The sound"
"A Friend in California (album) A Friend in California is the forty-first studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers, released in 1986. Haggard produced the album with Ron ""Snake"" Reynolds. Most of the songs were written by Haggard and Freddy Powers, who had become one of Haggard's favorite writers during this period. ""A Friend in California"" boasts a re-energized-sounding Haggard performing several up-tempo numbers like ""This Song is for You,"" ""Silverthorn Mountain,"" and ""I Had a Beautiful Time."" He also plays off his own legend with ""The Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home"" and the"
"Young, and Merle Haggard. His best-known songs include ""I Ain't Marching Anymore"", ""Changes"", ""Crucifixion"", ""Draft Dodger Rag"", ""Love Me, I'm a Liberal"", ""Outside of a Small Circle of Friends"", ""Power and the Glory"", ""There but for Fortune"", and ""The War Is Over"". Phil Ochs was born in El Paso, Texas, to Jacob ""Jack"" Ochs, a physician who was born in New York on August 11, 1910, and Gertrude Phin Ochs, who was born on February 26, 1912, in Scotland. His parents met and married in Edinburgh where Jack was attending medical school. After their marriage, they moved to the United"
"Music Association. The song did not win either award, with it losing the Single award to ""Okie from Muskogee."" The Fightin' Side of Me ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in December 1969 as the first single and title track from the album ""The Fightin' Side of Me"". The song became one of the most famous of his career. In reference to his own 2002 patriot song, ""Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American),"" Toby Keith once called this"
"releasing it as a single. Although both Drusky and Haggard versions eventually made it into the ""Billboard"" Hot Country Singles top ten, the competing records undoubtably kept either version for being a top five and perhaps number one record. The song's narrator is embittered by a deceitful lover, not only vowing to be through with love but trusting in anyone at all. (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers ""(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers"" is a song written by Liz Anderson. Best remembered as American country music artist Merle Haggard's first national top ten record, it was also a top"
"in mid-1969. A tape recorder version of this song was played at the funeral of late Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant. I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am ""I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album ""Pride in What I Am"". ""I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"" peaked at number three on the U.S. ""Billboard"" Hot Country Singles chart. It reached"
"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am ""I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album ""Pride in What I Am"". ""I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"" peaked at number three on the U.S. ""Billboard"" Hot Country Singles chart. It reached number-one on the Canadian ""RPM"" Country Tracks in January 1969. The song was covered by Dean Martin and released as a single"
"Dead began covering ""Okie from Muskogee"" in concert for the very same hippies that the song derides (Phil Ochs and the Beach Boys were among some of the other acts that played the song in concert). Whether these rock and rollers were simply amused by Haggard's song or genuinely impressed by his run of hits in the latter part of the decade, it was all made a moot point by the time he released the single ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" in 1970, a song that was so unapologetically right wing that it left no doubt as to where Haggard"
"not included on this recording. Haggard's 1970 concert includes covers of songs by Jimmie Rodgers and Woody Guthrie. Haggard's then-wife Bonnie Owens also sings a couple of songs album includes a medley of impersonations that Haggard does of fellow country stars Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash, and Buck Owens. AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated in his review: ""Like its predecessor, ""Okie from Muskogee"", ""The Fightin' Side of Me"" was a rush-released live album designed to cash in on the success of his ultra-patriotic hit single of the same name... It's a fun record, and one that gives a"
"in a covered wagon on the Oregon Trail, from Virginia. Hosking says old-time music was strong in her mountain area, as well as country. She grew up hearing neighbors play their simple instruments by ear, as a group called the Mountaineers. And the school cook took several girls from the school, taught them songs and they performed as the Farmerettes; with the Farmerettes, Hosking played washboard and sang her first solo. """"I'm no expert on the Appalachians at all, but I figure there are similarities -- the economy and some traditions, logging and mining. So, as a songwriter, you focus"
"who was born in Newton County, Arkansas, and lived for 90 years. The protagonist (who sings the song in first person) says that her life story can be told in only a few short lines, but reflects on how Grandma Harp (along with Grandpa, whom she married in 1901) was a rock that held the family together. Grandma Harp ""Grandma Harp"" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in March 1972 as the second single from the album ""Let Me Tell You About a Song"". ""Grandma Harp"" was"
"CMT Outlaws CMT Outlaws was an annual concert featuring country music's outlaws. The ""CMT Outlaws"" show was aired on Country Music Television. Before an invitation-only audience, CMT Outlaws 2005 celebrates the true rebels of country music with country greats who make their music and live their lives according to their own rules. Superstar Toby Keith, who has made headlines for his own outlaw spirit, will be joined onstage by Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Haggard, who has written and recorded many undeniable country classics, including ""Mama Tried,"" ""Okie From Muskogee"" and ""The Fightin' Side of Me."" Haggard, who spent"
"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."" 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 Joplins...I understood 'em, I got a long with it, but what if he was to come"
"Hungry Eyes (Merle Haggard song) ""Hungry Eyes"" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in December 1968 as the first single from the album ""A Portrait of Merle Haggard"". The song was one of the most famous of his career. During the late 1960s, Haggard released a series of recordings many critics have deemed to be not only some of his greatest works, but some of the most significant in the history of country music. ""Hungry Eyes"" — sometimes known as ""Mama's Hungry Eyes"" — is one of"
"those recordings. According to genre historian Bill Malone, Haggard wrote the song as a tribute to his mother and the sacrifices she made for her family as a single mother (Haggard's father having died when he was 9). The song itself is not autobiographical, Malone noted, as the Haggard family never lived in a labor camp. However, ""Hungry Eyes"" is a tribute to Oklahomans and others who lived in labor camps during the Great Depression, the time period in which this song is set. ""(I)t is Haggard's way of commemorating a whole generation of Okies who persisted through persecution and"
"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.' 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 Joplins... I understood 'em, I got along with it, but what if he was to come alive at this"
"I'm a Lonesome Fugitive I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is the third studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1967. The song ""I'm a Lonesome Fugitive"" brought Haggard country stardom. Although it sounds autobiographical (Haggard had done time at San Quentin), David Cantwell states in his book ""The Running Kind"" that it was actually written by Liz Anderson and her husband Casey while driving cross country and was inspired by the popular television show ""The Fugitive"" starring David Jansen and Richard Kimble. Haggard felt a connection to the song immediately and when it was released"
"title than many of his more pretentious efforts. Nothing special, just marriage and its travails, but play it twice and you'll remember most of it."" All songs by Merle Haggard unless otherwise noted: It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) is the fifteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached number one on the ""Billboard"" country albums chart. The lead off single was ""It's Not Love (But it's Not Bad)"" which also reached #1 on the charts. Haggard's second studio album of 1972 contains"
"and Haggard's vocals are deeply emotive without overplaying his hand."" A Portrait of Merle Haggard A Portrait of Merle Haggard is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released September 2, 1969. The album contains two number-one country hits, ""Hungry Eyes"" (sometimes referred to as ""Mama's Hungry Eyes"") and ""Workin' Man Blues"". According to ""The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music"", Haggard wrote ""Hungry Eyes"" as a tribute to his mother and the sacrifices she made for her family as a single mother (Haggard's father having died when he was 9), but it also"
"It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) is the fifteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached number one on the ""Billboard"" country albums chart. The lead off single was ""It's Not Love (But it's Not Bad)"" which also reached #1 on the charts. Haggard's second studio album of 1972 contains several songs that display an ambivalence towards relationships, such as ""Somewhere To Come When It Rains,"" ""My Woman Keeps on Loving Her Man,"" the adulterous ""I Wonder Where I'll Find You at Tonight,"""
"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"
"with five bonus tracks and 24-bit digital remastering. All songs by Merle Haggard unless otherwise noted. Pride in What I Am Pride in What I Am is the eighth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released in 1969 on Capitol Records. After scoring four number-one hits in a row, the single ""I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"" peaked at number 3 on the ""Billboard"" country singles chart. The song is a first person narration by a homeless drifter who laments his lonely, rootless existence but at the same time celebrates ""living off the side"