Two of the greatest of all time in country music...and their friendship was ruined over a poker game. Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard are undoubtedly two of the best to ever do it. But did you ever ...

Only Merle Haggard. Never one who was shy or too scared to speak his mind, Merle was good friends with Ray Benson, frontman of Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, who recalled a great story about ...

Merle Haggard wrote the title track of his fifth album for a former prison mate named Rabbit who invited him to escape San Quentin.

Meeting one’s idols can be a daunting experience, yet for Vince Gill, it turned into a cherished memory that shaped his career. In 1981, Gill boarded the tour bus of country music legend Merle Haggard ...

Among the many men and women of the hour during this weekend’s Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, Ethan Hawke was soaring arguably higher than even some the other featured guests, due to having two ...

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – One and only one original member of Merle Haggard’s legendary backup band, the Strangers, is left today. Norm Hamlet is still with us and still playing – and as well as ...

Author Marc Eliot knew the subject of his latest released biography, "The Hag: The Life, Times, and Music of Merle Haggard," for 25 years before his death in 2016. The writer's exposure to music, ...

Eighty-three years ago today, the country singer and songwriter who wrote hits for Merle Haggard and other legends was born.

Country music icon Merle Haggard died on Wednesday -- the same day as his 79th birthday -- his manager confirmed to ET. Haggard was reportedly diagnosed with pneumonia last year, and canceled a series ...

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.

Many of his songs are better known by other singers’ interpretations, like Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and more. By Lindsay Zoladz Nine tracks from ...

Author Marc Eliot has written a new biography of country music icon, Merle Haggard. The Hag details Haggard's quite extraordinary life; from breaking into a restaurant (that turned out to be open) and ...