Merle Ronald Haggard was a legendary country music singer, songwriter, and one of the musicians who pioneered the Bakersfield sound. He left a huge, irreplaceable influence on country music forever. At a young age he was faced with his father’s death and a troubled childhood, leading to a series of run-ins with the law and incarcerations. “The Hag” was truly gifted with the voice of a storyteller and the heart of a blue-collar workingman. Haggard played country music from the late fifties (even playing in the prison band at San Quentin) and started gaining popularity from country fans in the early ‘60s. He received numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, and National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Haggard was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 1994, and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 1997. Haggard accepted a Kennedy Center Honor in 2010 from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in “recognition of his lifetime achievement” and "outstanding contribution to American culture.”

We took an in-depth look at some of The Hag’s greatest hits, discovered what they were really all about, and learned why they will go down in history as some of Country Music’s greatest songs.