Country icon Merle Haggard has been as much of an inspiration to the mainstream music world as he has been to the scrappy indie scene bubbling beneath it, and two tribute albums that came out in the mid-1990s are indicative of the singer-songwriter’s far-reaching influence.
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The tribute compilation of the latter underground crowd was titled Tulare Dust: A Songwriter’s Tribute to Merle Haggard. And while this record didn’t have as many bigwig names as the other tribute, the album did feature a performer for whom Haggard had particularly high praise: Iris DeMent.
Merle Haggard Spoke Incredibly Highly of Iris Dement
Speaking to SFGate in 1995, Merle Haggard was diplomatic in his discussion of his two tribute albums. “What can I say?” He asked. “The sentiment involved would blindfold a guy as far as critiquing or criticizing. I’m too close to the project.” Still, Haggard offered great praise for one cover on the left-of-mainstream compilation featuring the likes of Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams. For Haggard, Iris DeMent’s “Big City” stole the show.
“I think she is one of the greatest singers I have ever heard in my life,” Haggard said. “I heard her on my tribute, went out and bought what was available, which was two albums. Found out she’s a new artist, and she can’t get played because she’s too g**damned good. She’s got too much to say. Songs mean too much. They make too much sense. There’s not the same line dance tempo going on. If I hear another line dance song, I think I’m going to puke.”
How the Country Star Turned a Rant Into a Hit
Merle Haggard first released “Big City” on the album of the same name in October 1981, twelve years before Iris DeMent would put her own spin on the track for Tulare Dust. And indeed, Haggard’s affinity for DeMent’s cover seemed as natural and spontaneous as the song itself came to be. The songwriter based his album (and title track) off a working class person’s wish to escape the laborious humdrum of their life and go somewhere peaceful and quiet, like Montana.
The working-class person in question was actually Haggard’s tour bus driver, who was lamenting over how tired he was of this “dirty old city.” Montana was the location that the bus driver, Dean Holloway, gave Haggard when the musician asked him where he would rather be. As a thank you for inspiring what would become Haggard’s first gold record, Haggard gave a writing credit to Holloway, earning him half a million dollars in royalties.
And for Good Measure, the Goo Goo Dolls
As an extra bit of fascinating trivia that proves the world really is much smaller than we realize, the singer whom Merle Haggard so greatly admired, Iris DeMent, is actually the Iris behind The Goo Goo Dolls hit of the same name. Yep, that one.
According to a 2023 interview with Classic Rock, Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik has always had trouble naming songs, so he waits until the very end of the songwriting process to do it. After solidifying the chord progression and lyrics, he said, “I was looking through a magazine called ‘LA Weekly’ and saw that a great singer-songwriter called Iris DeMent was playing in town. I was like, ‘Wow! What a beautiful name.’”
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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