Merle Haggard‘s early years, marked by minor crimes such as truancy, theft, shoplifting, and petty larceny, are well-documented. But in the early ’80s, he became a victim of a not-so-petty crime.
On this day—July 14, 1981—someone stole a truck packed with $175,000 of equipment from a motel parking lot in Houston, Texas, before one of Haggard’s shows.
The “Mama Tried” singer borrowed instruments and gear so he could still play his concert, and then moved on to concerts in Kentucky and Louisiana.
Authorities found the abandoned truck the following day, but only two large speaker cabinets were left inside. Haggard’s sound equipment and musical instruments were recovered later on July 15, after the thief tried to pawn them. Because much of the equipment was custom-made, it was easily recognizable, which made it easier to identify and retrieve.
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The Instruments Were Custom
Hopefully, the thief was able to turn his life around as Haggard did.
Merle Haggard’s parents moved from Oklahoma to California in 1935 as part of the Dust Bowl migration, two years before he was born. They lived in a converted railroad boxcar in Bakersfield, and his father got a job on the Santa Fe railroad. When the singer was 9 years old, he found his father partially paralyzed when he and his mother returned home from church. His dad was sitting in his big chair, his cheeks wet from tears. He had suffered a stroke and died soon after.
Haggard told GQ that his father’s death put him on the path to prison. It also steered him out of it.
“I think what I’ve always looked for in life is my father’s approval,” he said. “I think that was the biggest thing I was robbed of. And it took me down many paths. It motivates you to do what I did…whatever you have to do, looking for approval. Always making a new record, always writing another song. Who knows? It may have inspired everything.”
Merle Haggard’s Dad Dying Sent Him Searching for Approval
Before Haggard got his life on track, he’s rumored to have broken out of jail 17 times. It’s a rumor that has been reported as fact many times. But it is a rumor. However, he did escape several times. The singer served time in San Quentin prison, not because he committed an atrocious crime but because no other jail could hold him. At one point, he was even housed near death row and could hear the inmates talking.
While in San Quentin, Haggard saw Johnny Cash perform. The two later became friends. The combination of seeing Cash perform and serving time so close to death row inspired him to start turning his life around.
However, if it wasn’t for his early turbulent life and time spent in prison, would Haggard have had the inspiration to write his hard-living, heartbreak songs?
In 1972, then-California Governor and soon-to-be President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, officially pardoned Haggard for his crimes.
As for the instrument thief, his name is lost and forgotten in the depths of history.
Haggard died a country music hero on his birthday, April 6 in 2016. He was 79 years old.
(Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
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