Three Minutes, Four Tracks, One Merle Haggard Medley Performance

Aug 20, 2021 by apost team

The late Merle Haggard is an all-time icon of country music, whose career has delighted music fans around the world. But his early life was in complete contrast to his success as a famous musician, though perhaps that's exactly what made him so great.

Born in Olidale, California during the Great Depression, Haggard had a troubled childhood and adolescence after his father's death, which saw him incarcerated a few times. After being released from San Quentin State Prison in 1960 at the age of 23, Haggard managed to turn his life around, and it's then that he found his calling through music. If anything, his troubled early life is what prepared him for fame and gave him a rich background to draw on for his songwriting.

With 38 number-one hits on the U.S. country chart between the 1960s and 1980s, Haggard proved he's a bonafide country music icon. Still releasing successful albums into the 2000s — when he was in his 60s — Haggard's legacy lives on. He's also rightfully been honored many times, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honor and entry into the Country Music Hall of Fame, among many other accolades.

In this live performance from 1974, Haggard appeared on the popular show "Pop! Goes the Country." He already had more than a dozen number one songs to his name at this point, so instead of picking just one to perform, Haggard outdid himself and chose four! What's more, he linked the songs together in a delightful medley performance, which not only entertained audiences but showed off his talents. 

Kicking off the medley with his song "If We Make It Through December," Haggard shows off his skills with a short guitar solo. Not only that but he's holding his instrument up high so that the audience can get a good look. It's not hard to see that the musician is skilled at playing, and it's a great entry to the medley selection.

Seamlessly, Haggard then moves on to his hit "Old Man From The Mountain." This tune is a lot more upbeat, and the audience can't get enough, as they cheer once the song starts. But just as quickly as he changed to that song, Haggard has switched to yet another.

This time, the variety show's full band is playing alongside him, as he begins his classic "Everybody's Had The Blues." The soulful use of his voice is clearly drawing emotion from the crowd, but once again, Haggard isn't happy to sit on the one song, and soon enough, he's begun his final song for the night, "Okie from Muskogee."

Released in 1969, the song featured lyrics that reflected Haggard's pride in being from Middle America. It lampooned the anti-Vietnam sentiment that the hippie movement had popularized around that time and is often considered Haggard's signature song, making it a perfect ending to his medley.

Finishing up the performance, Haggard even let out a little yodel during the song's last line as he flashed a smile to the crowd. The four-song medley was a wonderful performance from one of country music's greats, and it's just as timeless as the musician himself.

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Are you a fan of Merle Haggard? Which of his songs is your favorite? Pass this on to any country music fans you know!