I took my 79 year old father to see him and Willie in concert back in October in Bloomington In, I thought he looked like death warmed over then ! He put on an incredible show and when he started in on one of his songs he was wanting the audience to sing along they just wasn't loud enough for his liking so he stopped the song and said to the audience hey folks at my age and in my condition I never know when I might be singing my last song so please let's put some gusto into this one ! And they did ! RIP Merle !
His manager, Frank Mull, said he died of pneumonia in Palo Cedro, California. Haggard recorded 40 No. 1 country singles and wrote some of the genre's most revered classics, which have been recorded by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, The Byrds, Vince Gill, The Grateful Dead and many others. Among his many honors, Haggard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 and received a Kenned.
What set Merle apart from many of his generation, aside from being a very good singer, was his song writing. I had the chance to see Merle back in the mid nineties what better place to see him than at the Ryman in Nashville. It was a good show.
James Pepper: There's no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pecos. Right, Mr. Chisum? John Chisum: Wrong, Mr. Pepper. Because no matter where people go, sooner or later there's the law. And sooner or later they find God's already been there.
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