On This Day in 1966, Merle Haggard Released His First No. 1 Single—a Song With Two Titles That He Almost Never Recorded

On this day (December 12) in 1966, Merle Haggard released “The Fugitive.” The title was taken from the popular TV show that inspired it, which is likely why he changed it before making it the title track of his 1967 album I’m a Lonesome Fugitive. It went on to be the first of Haggard’s 39 No. 1 singles.

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Haggard was four years into his recording career when he released “The Fugitive.” At the time, he had achieved a small amount of chart success. “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers,” “Swinging Doors,” and “The Bottle Let Me Down” were top 10 hits. However, he still hadn’t reached the top of the chart.

“The Fugitive” wasn’t just Haggard’s first No. 1 single. It also kicked off a long line of hits. For the next decade, all of his singles would land within the top five. Moreover, he scored 22 No. 1 hits between 1966 and 1976. After releasing “The Fugitive,” his first single to miss the top five was “Here Comes the Freedom Train,” which peaked at No. 10 in 1976.

Merle Haggard Recalls How He Came to Record “The Fugitive”

In an interview, Merle Haggard recalled how he almost missed his first No. 1 single.

“I was playing Sacramento one night, and I’d had a couple of hit records that went into the top five, but I hadn’t had a No. 1 record yet,” Haggard said. “This lady came up to the show, and she had these songs. She wanted us to go out and hear these songs and cut records for her, and I didn’t want to go,” he recalled.

That lady was Liz Anderson, country singer Lynn Anderson’s mom. She co-wrote the songs with her husband, Casey Anderson. Fortunately, Haggard’s brother was there that night and talked him into listening to what Anderson had to say.

“We got out there, and she sang me about five No. 1 songs, and ‘The Fugitive’ was one of them,” he said.

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