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Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
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April 06, 2003
Merle Haggard, American Badass
Born this day in 1937 hailing from Bakersfield, California: Merle Haggard is 66 years old today. Happy birthday, ya cussed old coot!
Mr. Haggard certainly rates as one of the top half dozen greatest recording artists in the history of country music. Him and his ex-wife wrote tons of totally kick ass songs. His tough-minded Bakersfield sound with the Strangers was harder rockin' than most of the pussy rock bands. Merle certainly rocked the mic harder than any Grateful Dead candyasses. He had more to say in 155 seconds of the "Working Man Blues" than any 30 minutes of Deadhead wankery.
The most important thing, though, other than Brian Wilson, I can think of no songwriter to emerge from California in the '60s that was Haggard's equal as a songwriter.
Haggard has been known as some kind of hardcore right-wing character, largely on the basis of just a couple of songs. It's worth noting, however, that his outlook was always rather more complicated than that. "Okie From Muskogee" started out as something of an inside joke on square country folk- until he caught flak for it and began presenting it seriously. Also, especially cool is the pre-Travis Bickle/Tim McVeigh character study in right wing looniness "I'll Be a Hero (When I Strike)." Note also that even as the beautifully belligerant rebuke to anti-war protesters "Fightin' Side of Me" reigned at #1, he was in the studio very enthusiastic about recording "Irma Jackson", the commercially hopeless tale of a mixed-race love affair.
He has a box set Down Every Road that kicks much ass. He also recorded an absolutely essential double-album tribute to Jimmie Rodgers Same Train, Different Time.
And if you want a real spokesman for the working man, it would certainly be Merle WAY before Springsteen.
Here the line-up for my own custom mixed Merle Haggard CD, which would be one of the best country CDs in your collection were you to compile one just like it:
MERLE HAGGARD, AMERICAN BADASS
Working Man Blues
Okie From Muskogee
(My Friends Are Going to Be) Strangers
Fightin' Side of Me
I'll Be a Hero (When I Strike)
Swingin' Doors
Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down
Sing Me Back Home
The Son of Hickory Hollers' Tramp
The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde
Today I Started Loving You Again
Mama Tried
In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)
California Blues (Blue Yodel #4)
I Take a Lot of Pride in who I Am
I Can't Hold Myself in Line
Mama's Hungry Eyes
Silver Wings
Huntsville
Waiting for a Train
Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel (The Women Make A Fool Out Of Me)
If We Make It Through December
If We're Not Back in Love by Monday
Pancho and Lefty
I Wish a Buck Was Still SilverLabels: country_music
posted by Al at 4/06/2003 03:21:00 AM
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