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Remember Merle Haggard Through Willie Nelson’s Eyes On The Anniversary Of His Birth & His Death

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Three years ago today, on April 6th, 2016, outlaw country icon Merle Haggard passed away on his 79th birthday. Haggard spent a lifetime playing country music, becoming a pioneering face of “outlaw country” and enjoying the success throughout a career that spanned over 50 years. He wrote countless beloved songs like “Okie From Muskogee”, “I’m A Lonesome Fugitive”, “Sing Me Back Home,” “The Fightin’ Side Of Me,” “I Wonder If They Think of Me”, “Mama Tried”, and many more, and continued to work until his final days. Among his more recent (and popular) releases was Django and Jimmie, a 2015 album featuring Haggard and Willie Nelson. Watch the two lovable musical stoners record their track “It’s All Going To Pot” below:

Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard – “It’s All Going To Pot”

[Video: WillieNelsonVEVO]

In a Rolling Stone editorial published after Merle Haggard’s passing, Willie shared a few touching highlights from the two men’s decades-long friendship. He explained that while they had only recently released an album together, the two had been fast and fierce friends since meeting at a poker game in the early 60’s.
Merle Haggard
As Nelson recalled, “We always had a lot in common. We both hopped trains as kids. We both got our starts playing bass in other bands before stepping out on our own. We’d both been married for the last 20 years. We both had our sons playing guitar with us. Over the years, we played a lot of dates, a lot of poker. He was a great audience for my jokes. I told him recently, ‘You know what you call a guitar player without a girlfriend? Homeless,’ and he laughed.”

Nelson also talked about Haggard’s work ethic and dedication to his craft. “I always had a lot of admiration for him. He came onto the scene with a bang. He wrote more Number One songs than me, Kris [Kristofferson], anybody. He was a great one to follow. He was able to talk about his life in his songs intelligently and ingeniously, really.” Willie added that his favorite song by Haggard is “A Place to Fall Apart”.

As we mark the anniversary of his death and birth, we remember Merle with a live performance of Willie Nelson’s favorite song he wrote, from his 1985 live album, Live From Austin, TX:

Merle Haggard – “Place To Fall Apart” – Live From Austin, TX

[Video: Live From Austin TX]

You can read Willie Nelson’s full editorial tribute to Merle Haggard here.

Rest in peace, Merle Haggard–gone but not forgotten…

[Originally published on April 6th, 2018]

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