Merle Haggard

Known to many as simply “The Hag”, singer/songwriter Merle Haggard was born in Oildale in a converted boxcar to a pair of Dust Bowl refuges in 1937.

Haggard became one of the early innovators of the “Bakersfield Sound”, a twangy, rock influenced interpretation of honky-tonk.  A legendary entertainer and prolific songwriter, Haggard has penned more than 600 songs --- including 250 of his own.

Arrested for burglary, he worked on music in jail.  His deep, grumbling voice and his self-taught guitar work give his music a blues-like quality, often reflecting his own life experience.

Haggard’s chart success was consistent and impressive. In 1969, after signing with Capital Records and producing nine consecutive number-one hits, Haggard penned the immortal Okie from Muskogee, which went platinum.

His list of accomplishments includes 13 Academy of Country Music Awards -- including six recognitions as Male Vocalist of the Year and a 1972 nod as Entertainer of the Year. He has received six Country Music Association awards, three Academy of County Music awards, and was twice voted Male Artist of the Year by Music City News. He won his first Grammy for Best Male Country Performance in 1984 for That’s the Way Love Goes. Haggard captured two more Grammys in 1998, earning the Hall of Fame Award and a nod for Best Country Collaboration.
 
In 1977, Haggard was rewarded with an induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2003 was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His hometown honored him with a street in his name in 2007.