LAS VEGAS, NV – Recording artists Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard perform during the opening night of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts on March 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for The Smith Center)
(Original Caption) Award winners, left to right, Roy Clark, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and Porter Wagoner are shown here at the Country Music Association annual awards show. (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)
CIRCA LATE 1960s: Country musician Merle Haggard performs on stage with Bonnie Owens during a late 1960's concert. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
American country musician Merle Haggard performing at the Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, 13th February 1976. (Photo by Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
THE JOHNNY CASH SHOW – Airdate: August 2, 1969. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)MERLE HAGGARD;JOHNNY CASH
