Merle Haggard gave a performance for the ages in 1985. The late country star performed at the first-ever Farm Aid concert and delighted the crowd by singing “Natural High,” which he’d released the year prior.
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The crowd went wild as Haggard showed off his classic voice and natural charisma throughout the song. A massive round of applause followed as soon as the track came to an end.
The performance came during Farm Aid’s first-ever concert. Started by Willie Nelson, Farm Aid aimed to raise money for U.S. farmers, as land values plummeted and sky-high interest rates combined to force thousands of farms into bankruptcy.
Nelson, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, teamed up to put on the show in six weeks. Ultimately, 80,000 people gathered in Champaign, Illinois, to watch Haggard, along with Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty, perform.
That first concert raised more than $7 million. The fundraiser has been put on every year since, raising nearly $80 million. Dave Matthews and Margo Price now serve on the Board of Directors.
With Haggard’s performance still circulating across social media to this day, listeners can’t help but reminisce on the old school country sound and Haggard’s brilliance. “Nobody will ever replace the Hag,” one fan wrote. Another added, “The greatest for all time and eternity.” Continuing their praise, another fan claimed, “When country music was country music.”
Merle Haggard’s Life and Work
Throughout his storied career, Merle Haggard had 40 number ones on the Billboard Country charts, won two GRAMMY Awards, was given the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award, was awarded multiple Country Music Association Awards, and many from the Association of Country Music.
He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and given the Kennedy Center Honor in 2010.
On top of that, Haggard, who recorded more than 100 albums during his lifetime, had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from California State University of Bakersfield.
Haggard, who was a dad of six, died in 2016 on his 79th birthday. Prior to his death, Haggard had been in and out of the hospital battling pneumonia.
“There’s a reason for everything,” Haggard told Country Weekly in 1997. “The route my life took was meant to be that way in order for it to be the way it is now. It’s been incredible, and frankly, if He pulled the switch tomorrow, it’s been a great ride.”
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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