On This Day in 1984, Merle Haggard Became the Second Star To Take This Lefty Frizzell-Penned Classic to the Top of the Country Chart

On this day (February 11) in 1984. Merle Haggard topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “That’s the Way Love Goes.” The song spent a week at the top of the tally, giving Haggard his 30^th No. 1. Later in the year, it brought him the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. However, he wasn’t the first to find success with the song.

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Lefty Frizzell wrote “That’s the Way Love Goes” with Whitey Shafer and recorded the first version of the song for his 1973 album The Legendary. The next year, he released it as the B-side to “I Never Go Around Mirrors,” which peaked at No. 25 on the country chart. Johnny Rodriguez released his rendition of the song in 1973 as the second single from his sophomore album All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing. It became his third consecutive No. 1.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1969, Merle Haggard Reluctantly Recorded a No. 1 Single That Led to One of His Biggest Hit Albums]

Haggard wasn’t the first or last to record “That’s the Way Love Goes.” Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, Crystal Gayle, Alan Jackson, and Ronnie Dunn have also recorded the song. However, no one saw as much success with it as Haggard.

Merle Haggard Finds a New Level of Success

Merle Haggard released his version of “That’s the Way Love Goes” on November 19, 1983. Just under three months later, it became his 30^th No. 1 single in February 1984. Later that year, it won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. It was the first of two Grammy wins for Haggard. His second win came more than a decade later, in 1999, at the 41^st Grammy Awards. “Same Old Train” won Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Haggard shared the victory with Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, and Travis Tritt.

The same year he won his second Grammy, Haggard released a new version of “That’s the Way Love Goes. The new rendition was a duet with singer/songwriter Jewel, and was less successful. It peaked at No. 56 on the country chart.

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