10 Years Ago Today, One of Country Music’s Most Beloved Stars Died on His 79th Birthday

On this day (April 6) in 2016, Merle Haggard died from pneumonia at his Palo Cedro, California, home. It was the morning of his 79^th birthday. Haggard’s career spanned more than five decades. In that time, he wrote and recorded a long list of songs that became timeless country hits. He was also a major figure in the West Coast country music scene and was one of the pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound. His widely beloved music helped spread the California-bred sound to a nationwide audience and beyond.

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Haggard’s music career truly began behind the walls of California’s infamous San Quentin prison. There, he was doing time for a burglary charge when he saw Johnny Cash perform. This concert inspired the already talented musician to turn his life around. Shortly after being released from prison, Haggard joined Wynn Stewart’s band as a bassist.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1984, Merle Haggard Became the Second Star To Take This Lefty Frizzell-Penned Classic to the Top of the Country Chart]

Fuzzy Owen, the band’s steel guitar player, signed Haggard to his label, Tally Records, when he recorded a handful of singles. One of those, “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers,” reached the top 10. As a result, Capitol Records offered him a recording contract in 1965, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. His debut album, Strangers, hit shelves later that year.

Merle Haggard’s Legendary Output

Haggard went on to release more than 70 studio albums, not counting compilations, live LPs, collaborative releases, and guest appearances. Sixteen of those releases topped the country albums chart. He also placed 38 singles at the top of the country chart.

Some of Haggard’s songs became much more than hits. They are cultural touchstones, timeless songs enjoyed by generations of fans. “Mama Tried,” “Okie from Muskogee,” “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” “Poncho and Lefty,” “If We Make it Through December,” and “Fightin’ Side of Me” are just a few of his songs that have stood the test of time.

Remembering Haggard

“If they just bring me up in the same sentence with some of the great writers, you know, that would be my ultimate, to have that,” Merle Haggard once said. With the long list of country classics he penned in his lifetime, it is safe to say that he more than earned his place among the genre’s other great songsmiths.

Jimmy Belken, a longtime fiddler in the Strangers, summed up Haggard’s influence on the country world, saying, “If someone out there workin’ music doesn’t bow deep to Merle, don’t trust him about much anything else.”

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