Merle Haggard: The Running Kind (American Music (University of Texas))

Merle Haggard has enjoyed artistic and professional triumphs few can match. He's charted more than a hundred country hits, including thirty-eight number ones. He's released dozens of studio albums and another half dozen or more live ones, performed upwards of ten thousand concerts, been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and seen his songs performed by artists as diverse as Lynryd Skynyrd, Elvis Costello, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, the Grateful Dead, and Bob Dylan. In 2011 he was feted as a Kennedy Center Honoree. But until now, no one has taken an in-depth look at his career and body of work. In Merle Haggard: The Running Kind, David Cantwell takes us on a revelatory journey through Haggard's music and the life and times out of which it came. Covering the entire breadth of his career, Cantwell focuses especially on the 1960s and 1970s, when Haggard created some of his best-known and most influential music, which helped invent the America we live in today. Listening closely to a masterpiece-crowded catalogue (including songs such as "Okie from Muskogee," "Sing Me Back Home," "Mama Tried," "Working Man Blues," "Kern River," "White Line Fever," "Today I Started Loving You Again," and "If We Make It through December," among many more), Cantwell explores the fascinating contradictions--most of all, the desire for freedom in the face of limits set by the world or self-imposed--that define not only Haggard's music and public persona but the very heart of American culture. ContentsIntroduction: "Silver Wings," Kansas City, Missouri, September 14, 2001"Hungry Eyes," 1969The Roots of His RaisingMama Tried," 1968 Toward the Bad He Kept on Turnin'He Loves Them So: A Playlist of Early Influences"Leonard," 1981The Bakersfield Sound and FurySomeone Told His Story in a Song"I Started Loving You Again," 1968The Legend of Bonnie and Him"Sing Me Back Home," 1967He's Living in the Good Old DaysHe Likes Living Right and Being Free"Irma Jackson," 1969His Fightin' SideHe'd Rather Be Gone"It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)," 1972He Wishes He Was Santa ClausHe Takes a Lot of Pride in What He Is (Hint: He's a White Boy)"A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today," 1977His Country Girl with Hot Pants OnHe's Always on a Mountain When He Falls"Rainbow Stew," 1981He Wishes a Buck Was Still Silver (Not Really) and Likes the Taste of Yesterday's Wine (Really)"Kern River," 1985He's Going Where the Lonely Go"Me and Crippled Soldiers," 1990The Hag versus the Man in BlackIf He Could Only Fly: Merle Haggard in the Twenty-first CenturyCuba, Missouri, July 15, 2010Selected DiscographyAcknowledgments Introduction. "Silver wings" : Kansas City, Missouri, September 14, 2001 "Hungry eyes," 1969 The roots of his raising "Mama tried," 1968 Toward the bad he kept on turnin' He loves them so : a playlist of early influences "Leonard," 1981 The Bakersfield sound and fury Someone told his story in a song "I started loving you again," 1968 The legend of Bonnie and him "Sing me back home," 1967 He's living in the good old days He likes living right and being free "Irma Jackson," 1969 His fightin' side He'd rather be gone "It's not love (but it's not bad)," 1972 He wishes he was Santa Claus He takes a lot of pride in what he is (Hint: He's a white boy) "A working man can't get nowhere today," 1977 His country girl with hot pants on He's always on a mountain when he falls "Rainbow stew," 1981 He wishes a buck was still silver (not really) and likes the taste of yesterday's wine (really) "Kern River," 1985 He's going where the lonely go "Me and crippled soldiers," 1990 The Hag versus the Man in Black If he could only fly : Merle Haggard in the twenty-first century Cuba, Missouri, July 15, 2010. Focusing on the most prolific decades in the career of this complex, often contradictory icon of country music, David Cantwell explores the creation of many of Merle Haggard's greatest hits and the life and times that inspired them. Focusing on the most prolific decades in the career of this complex, often contradictory artist, David Cantwell explores the life, times, and enduring impact of Merle Haggard's singularly American music.