Merle Haggard was one of the most important figures in the history of country music, period. His songwriting was both clever and insightful, and influenced many. His voice was compassionate and his music direct, unburdened by the excessive backing arrangements typical of much country music of the time.
These two playlists—structured as a traditional double-LP—focus on his mid- to late-‘60s heyday, and I’ve split them thematically, rather than chronologically (although there is some correlation, in fact).
Playlist 1: Love and Liquor
Humor and catchy melodies abound in Haggard’s tales of jilted lovers, most of which come from the first few albums of his career. For his woeful narrators, lost love often triggers a retreat to the barroom. Always, Haggard’s wit shines through. These are the Haggard songs I love the best, to be honest—more so than the more “important” serious work of the second playlist. I enjoy listening to this stuff over and over.
Playlist 2: Champion of the Underdog
Here’s where Haggard chronicles the struggles of the working class heroes, the underdogs, the disenfranchised and convicted. These are characters who have been cast aside not by a lover but by society itself. It’s an impressive collection of songs, the work of an artist who could empathize with many, feel their struggles, and express their regret.
Like Johnny Cash, Haggard had an affinity and compassion for the downtrodden; unlike Cash, he didn’t get along with the hippie counterculture so well—his working man’s protest remained more firmly rooted in traditional attitudes. There’s an element of sensational showmanship in Cash’s depictions of criminals and street toughs that is absent from Haggard’s more plainspoken accounts. Flip sides of a similar coin, they remain two pillars of country western music.
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