As one of the most prominent names in country music history, Merle Haggard is no stranger to hearing covers of his classic songs. Trading songs and cutting covers has been a staple practice of the country and folk realm since the genres in their truest forms came into existence, and in the mid-1990s, Haggard found himself waiting for the release of two coinciding tribute albums, Mama’s Hungry Eyes and Tulare Dust.
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Two sides of the same Haggard coin, the former album featured a star-studded lineup of major acts like Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, and Vince Gill. The latter album was a bit rougher around the edges, featuring underground legends like Dwight Yoakam, Peter Case, and Lucinda Williams.
Both records feature these artists giving their best renditions of Haggard’s tunes, some of which the country legend preferred over others. He revealed his favorites from a South Carolina payphone in a 1995 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
Of All The Merle Haggard Covers, He Liked These The Best
Never one to mince words, country icon Merle Haggard mused over whether the more highly produced of the two tribute albums, Mama’s Hungry Eyes, did itself a disservice by trying to sound too much like Haggard instead of a collection of individual artists performing his songs. “Some of the guys in Nashville would have had a better end result had they done my songs in their style,” Haggard argued from the South Carolina payphone booth. “Some people feel the Tulare Dust album is more entertaining because of the fact that it wasn’t their intention to do it my way. They’re not trying to do it Merle Haggard’s way.”
“I find it ironic that maybe the Tulare Dust album that’s not recorded as well technically, at the present time, Tulare Dust is way ahead of the other one on the charts,” he continued. “It makes you scratch your head, if you’re a Nashvillian. But I’m not.”
As for Haggard’s favorites from either album? He told the West Coast newspaper he was particularly fond of Alan Jackson’s rendition of “Trying Not to Love You” from Mama’s Hungry Eyes. His favorite Tulare Dust track was Iris Dement’s “Big City.” He added, “I think she is one of the greatest singers I have ever heard in my life. I heard her on my tribute, went out and bought was available, which was two albums.”
Haggard also listed “Today I Started Loving You Again” as his “best copyright,” but he didn’t have a specific artist in mind—just the impressive size of his royalty check. “If I receive a check for $15,000, $7,500 will be for that and the rest will be for other songs.”
The Country Star Had Strong Opinions On Mainstream Radio
Merle Haggard’s decades-long career stretched well into the 2010s, but he primarily circled outside of the realm of mainstream radio from the mid-1980s and onward. But as he explained during his 1995 interview, that was quite alright with him. “I’m godd***** glad they don’t play my s*** along with that other crap,” he said bluntly. “I’ve searched the radio, and I can’t find any country music on the radio. It sounds to me like there’s a whole lot of rock and roll going on. I’m not opposed to rock and roll. I’m about a half rock-and-roller myself. I grew up doing the same thing Elvis did. And I’m not talking about shaking my hips. I’m talking about music.”
“Some of this stuff they’re playing on the radio,” Haggard continued, “if that’s the best America has to offer, I don’t believe it is. I’m not a bit insulted to not have my records played in between some of that stuff.”
These days, Haggard finds himself more prominently played on country oldies stations, which likely puts him in a class of musicians he would have been happier to share airtime with than what he was listening to in the mid-1990s.
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