Haggard's efforts to balance traditional and innovation have paid off. He has had over 40 number one country hits, which is more than Hank Willams Sr and Johnny Cash combined. Hagard's 1973 confessional ballad "Today I Started Loving You Again" has become covered by some 400 artists. He has received 43 award nominations from the Country Music Association-more than any other male country entertainer. And he has released over 67 albums.

Much of the material for Hagaard's music came from his gritty past. In 1934 Haggard's parents spun out of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma to settle in a Hover camp in Oildale, California, near Bakersfield. The family waas living in a converted boxcar when Merle was born on April 6 1937.

Haggard's father got a job as a carpenter for the Santa Fe Railroad, a job that left a lasting impression on young Merle. To this day, Haggard's tour bus carries the Santa Fe Railroad logo. Haggard inherited his musical ability from his father, who played the fiddle a pastime disapproved of by Mrs Haggard, a devout christian.

The death of Haggard's father undoubtedly contributed to Merle's rebellious youth. Merel started hopping short line trains to run away from home, roaming all over the Southwest. About this time he first heard the liberating yodel of Jimmie Ridgers.

"When I hered those Jimmie Rodgers songs I felt it was something I had to do hop some freights and unconciously go to prison too." Haggard once said in a newspaper interview. "It's almost like there was a certain education I had to come by and certain things I had to get under my belt.

Haggard committed a number of petty crimes as a teen. In 1957 Haggard landed in Sam Quentin Prison. Working in the prison textile mill, he began to repattern his life. Upon his release in 1960 Haggard returned to Bakersfield and began playing the country music he had learned in prison.

Bakersfield was an active country music center at the time. Buck Owens was living and working there, as were other lesser known but talented musicians. Here Haggard meet Fuzzy Owens, the man who is still his manager. Recording in a converted garage, they produced Haggard/s first single, "Singing My Heart Out," for the Tally lable in 1963. It sold 200 copies and received some local airplay. Later that year Haggard had his first hit with "Sing Me a Sad Song."

In 1965 Haggard married Bonnie Owens, Buck Owens's former wife. This was Haggards second marrige, his first wife was Leona Hobbs, with whom he had four children. Haggard also began a long and fruitful association with Capitol Records that same year. His firs number one hit, "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" was released in 1966. This song ushered in a series of Haggard tunes about life in prison and as a fugitive. His 1968 song "Mama Tried" was a reminiscence about his own misspent adolescence. When Haggard's prison record was made public, the authenticity of his songs became part of his mystique. By 1968 Haggard had established himself as a country music superstar.

From the first time Haggard walked on stage his style has been impossible to define. He has always played a kaleidoscope of pop, swing, blues, and what Haggard terms "country jazz." His innovative nine piece band, the Strangers, developed new sounds as well. Recording on their own the Strangers have won top honors as a touring band.

Haggard's songwriting topics gradually broadened to include social commentary. His 1969 song "Okie From Oskogee" defended small-town virtues against the vices of the turned-on generation. It became a theme song for the conservative Silent Majority and reputedly was a hit with then-President Richard Nixon, though Haggard claimed he wrote the song toungue-in-cheek. Haggard's tunes also chronicled middle-class economic woes. During the 1974 recession, he recorded "If We Make It Through December," which became a pop hit. The plight of the American farmer inspired Haggard's 1985 song "Amber Waves Of Grain."

In 1977 Haggard left Capital Records for MCA. Although he had some hits while he was with MCA he left the lable in 1981 for Epic. The following year, Haggard teamed up with country music legend George Jones for A Taste Of Yesterday's Wine. Haggard also recorded with outlaw Willie Nelson. The title song from their 1983 album Pancho and Lefty, became a number one hit. Epic's handling of the publicity for "Me and Crippled Soldiers" prompted Haggard to leave and sign with Curb Records in 1990. His first album for Curb was Blue Jungle, Merel Haggard 1994, which included the autobiographical "Troubador" and In My Next Life," confirmed his talents as country's premier songwriter.

Haggard's personal life remained turbulent throughout the years. He divorced Bonnie Owens in 1978 and married Leona Williams a backup singer for the Strangers. The couple separated in 1983. Later, Haggard married Debie Parret, a marrige that also ended in divorce. Haggard is now married to Theresa Ann Lane; they have two children.