Country legend Merle Haggard was a multifarious artist — play almost any of the many records he made in his long career, and you’ll note how he moves from the inspired to the banal and back again. Haggard, who died in April 2016 on his 79th birthday, wrote brilliantly even when he was goofing around, and no other country vocalist is as guilefully pungent. As Missouri writer David Cantwell explains in his superb 2013 critical analysis of the man’s music, Merle Haggard: The Running Kind, the creator of “Okie From Muskogee” and “Sing Me Back Home” engaged in conversations with himself and the prevailing culture of his time, which informed a remarkable, confounding body of work. Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Bobby Bare Sr. and Miranda Lambert are among the many acolytes who will perform Haggard’s songs Thursday, on what would have been his 80th birthday. If you’re not familiar with his music, I couldn’t begin to tell you where to start: Hag? Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album? Part of the show’s proceeds will benefit The T.J. Martell Foundation. EDD HURT
Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard Feat. Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson & more
