Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music performer, composer, guitarist, and fiddler (he passed away on April 6, 2016).
Near the conclusion of the Great Depression, Haggard was born in Oildale, California. After his father passed away, his boyhood was rocky, and he spent some time in jail as a young man. After leaving San Quentin State Prison in 1960, he was able to rebuild his life and begin a lucrative career in country music.
He gained notoriety thanks to his songs about the working class, some of which occasionally contained themes in contradiction to the anti-Vietnam War sentiment of other popular music at the time.
Between the 1960s and the 1980s, he had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts; several of these also made the Billboard all-genre singles list. Haggard continued to release successful albums into the 2000s.
Who pardoned Merle Haggard?
On March 21, 1972, over 50 years ago, Governor Reagan issued a ”full and unconditional pardon,” and sent Merle Ronald Haggard, prisoner No. A-45200, his “best wishes for your success and happiness.”
By that point, “Okie From Muskogee” had won almost all the available country music awards, and Mr. Haggard had been awarded the year’s top entertainer by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
While country and western music is hardly classical, it is traditionally American, Mrs. Reagan, who was dressed in blue denim, noted in her opening remarks today. It is down-home, real-world, and just plain enjoyable. Get your boots ready to stomp, your heart ready to romp, and enjoy the music, she continued.
