Before bands like The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers merged country and rock music, musicians from the two genres rarely mingled; they were more likely to flash a one-fingered salute than a ...

Merle Haggard had a rough start in this world. First of all, he was born during the final years of the Great Depression, and soon after, his father died when Haggard was around nine years old. As a ...

The late Merle Haggard sang about breakups, working, loving, fighting, American flags, getting drunk and working some more. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WORKIN' MAN BLUES") HAGGARD: (Singing) Well, hey, hey, ...

Merle Haggard doubled down on the reputation that was born from "Okie from Muskogee" with his next big hit, "Fightin' Side of ...

Before “Okie From Muskogee” became his signature song and before “If We Make It Through December” became his biggest crossover hit, Merle Haggard’s best-known song was the one where he came clean ...

Preparing to enter his seventh decade in the music industry, 92-year-old country music and American icon Willie Nelson is releasing his 78th solo album. "Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle" arrives on ...

HAGGARD: (Singing) Well, hey, hey, the working man, the working man like me. I ain't never been on welfare, and that's one place I won't be. INSKEEP: He sang all the country music stereotypes, but is ...

Only 7% of LAist readers currently donate to fund our journalism. Help raise that number, so our nonprofit newsroom stays strong in the face of federal cuts. Donate now. HAGGARD: (Singing) Well, hey, ...

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Haggard's biographer Marc Eliot about his book: The Hag. Haggard spent his early years going from family tragedy to odd jobs to broken marriages to petty crime to prison.