Merle Haggard Left A Blueprint For Great Country Music

If Merle Haggard isn't on the Mount Rushmore of country music, he's darn close. The music world lost Haggard yesterday, on his 79th birthday. After seeing the news, I did what I'm sure countless others did yesterday. For the first time in a while, I cued up The Hag.

Merle Haggard has 40 number one country hits. Some of them are classics synonymous with the country genre. 'Mama Tried', 'Fightin' Side of Me', 'Okie From Muskogee' are Haggard songs we all know. But you owe it to yourself to dive deeper. Pull up anyone of Merle's greatest hits albums and you'll discover songs you never knew you loved. I'd forgotten about 'If We Make It Through December' and what a beautiful song it is. The one thing that Merle excelled at is isolation and loneliness. There's just something about a country artist who spent time in prison that lends authenticity to any song written about being alone.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you how big a Haggard fan I am. The truth is yesterday evening was the first time I'd listened to his music voluntarily in a long time. And that is my fault. I fear it's the same with many country music fans today. We get so caught up in what's current and popular that we forget to look back and honor the music and artists that came first. Sure, the musical stylings are different today than they were back then. But sit back and listen to the song writing and the lyrics. Listen to Merle sing the song 'Hungry Eyes'. Hear the pain and longing in his voice. You can feel the hunger and wanting for a better life. Can you feel that same pain and intensity in today's music?

Merle Haggard's death robs us of another member of country music royalty. But it should make you want to learn more about what made him the artist that he was. Dive into his hits today. While you're at it, cue up some Cash or Jennings too. They may be gone, but they've left us a musical blueprint of how great country music can be. Let's hope more of today's artists follow it.