Tag: Merle Haggard

How Merle Haggard Almost Gave “Today I Started Loving You Again” to Marty Robbins

Merle Haggard and Marty Robbins had a close relationship that connected in their songs as well as Merle’s impersonation of Marty.

After Merle Haggard wrote one of his greatest songs, he originally planned to give it to another artist. As Haggard wrote and first sang “Today I Started Loving You Again,” he thought it sounded like it should be a song by Marty Robbins.

Haggard then planned to give the song to Marty Robbins. But, unfortunately for Robbins, the timing did not work out right.

Haggard and Robbins

As Haggard explains in the video below, after he wrote “Today I Started Loving You Again,” he ended up going into the studio to record an album before he talked to Robbins. So, he went ahead and recorded the song himself. And the classic song is remembered in Haggard’s voice.

Perhaps had there been cell phones back then, Haggard would have texted Robbins right after he wrote “Today I Started Loving You Again.” And history would have been a little different.

You can get a sample of how the song sounds in the voices of both of the great singers below.

Haggard’s Song

Haggard wrote “Today I Started Loving You Again” in 1967. At the time, he was still married to Bonnie Owens, who often wrote down the songs as Haggard created them.

Although the two would divorce in 1978 and later find other partners in love, they remained close to each other through the rest of their lives. Owens continued to sing backup in Haggard’s band until 2006. And “Today I Stopped Loving You” remained with a special meaning for the two.

Haggard released “Today I Started Loving You Again” as a B-side in 1968, and today is a classic, even though the original release did not hit the charts. The song began reaching a wider audience when Sammi Smith covered the song in 1975, and it has since been covered by a number of artists.

As for Marty Robbins, Haggard and Robbins had a mutual respect and friendship. Robbins later did record a version of Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December.”

Beyond the song connections, their personal connection is even more apparent in this video of Haggard doing a spot-on impersonation of Robbins.

If that is not enough of a connection between the two to illustrate their friendship, Haggard named his son Marty after Robbins, who passed away December 8, 1982. Merle Haggard passed away on April 6, 2016.

What Merle Haggard song do you wish Marty Robbins would have recorded? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Merle Haggard: “No Time to Cry”

    Haggard 1996

    Our song of the day features Merle Haggard covering an Iris DeMent song that appeared on one of his overlooked albums from the 1990s. In “No Time to Cry,” the singer begins by remembering his father’s funeral from a year before, moving into a meditation on live, it’s joys and it’s pains.

    When I first heard Haggard’s version from his album 1996, I though he might have wrote it or that it had been written for him. The song perfectly fits his weathered voice at the time of an older person. Although Merle Haggard was only in his late 50’s when he recorded “No Time to Cry,” he always seemed much older than his age.

    The singer looks back through the years, realizing life is full of pain. But in the end, you cannot stop the pain or cry for everyone.

    Now I sit down on the sofa and I watch the evening news:
    There’s a half a dozen tragedies from which to pick and choose;
    The baby that was missing was found in a ditch today;
    And there’s bombs a’flying and people dying not so far away;
    And I’ll take a beer from the refrigerator,
    And go sit out in the yard and with a cold one in my hand;
    I’m going to bite down and swallow hard,
    Because I’m older now: I’ve got no time to cry.

    Iris DeMent’s Version

    In Haggard’s version, he sounds weary. He sounds hardened by what he has seen. By contrast, in Iris DeMent‘s original version from her album My Life (1993), her haunting voice sounds like someone barely able to keep from crying. Her version reveals the raw emotions nearer to the surface than the old man in Haggard’s version. She takes longer

    Listen to just the way Haggard adds “it’s true” near the end at around the 3:45 mark. It is as if the singer is reminding himself that he cannot cry. DeMent’s version does not add that declaration, perhaps because the singer does not quite believe it is true.

    DeMent’s recording clocks in at nearly seven minutes, while Haggard’s song takes just four and a half minutes. He is making a declaration, telling you his story, while DeMent takes longer because she is trying to convince herself of her strength in the wake of everything. Both versions are wonderful. Here is DeMent’s take on her song “No Time to Cry.”

    Haggard’s choice to cover the song reveals his great taste in music that fits him. But he also admired DeMent’s work, having earlier praised DeMent’s version of his song “Big City” on the Haggard tribute album, Tulare Dust.

    Which version of “No Time to Cry” do you like best? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Enjoy the History of Country Music with Cocaine & Rhinestones Podcast

    One of my favorite podcasts lately has been Cocaine & Rhinestones by Tyler Mahan Coe.  In each episode, Coe delves deep into the history of country music in the twentieth century.

    Cocaine & Rhinestones Episodes run anywhere between forty minutes and two hours, and each one may examine an artist’s career or may analyze the history behind a certain song, or both.  For example, one two-part episode centered on the relationship between Buck Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.  Another episode tells the story about how radio stations banned Loretta Lynn’s song, “The Pill.”  Another episode focused on Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Bille Joe” while also giving a fascinating overview of Gentry’s career.

    Coe does an outstanding job trying to tell the truth behind the stories behind country music.  An avid reader, Coe delves into books that tell the stories, comparing versions of events so he can explain his best estimate of what really happened.

    Coe’s goal of telling us what really happened is part of the reason why he does not use original interviews but wraps information together to tell us the stories.  And at the end of each podcast, Coe also fills us in with “liner notes,” telling us a little more about his sources and other information that might not have fit in the main tale.

    As you might guess from the title Cocaine & Rhinestones, Coe does not shy away from the darker legends of country music, such as the first episode about how Ernest Tubb once showed up in slippers to try to shoot someone.

    But Coe is most interested in the music behind these artists.  His podcasts feature excepts from important songs, and he often breaks them down to help you hear them in a new way.

    Coe recently explained to The New Yorker how one of his radio inspirations is Paul Harvey, who hosted, among other shows, The Rest of the Story.  I used to listen to those shows as a kid too, and I even bought books with written versions of Harvey’s episodes.  So, I can hear the connection, mostly in the way that Coe tells a good story that keeps you entertained while you learn something new.

    Tyler Mahan Coe’s background in country music goes back to his birth, as he is the son of country legend David Allan Coe and later played guitar in his dad’s band.  Now, he lives in Nashville as he spreads the gospel of country music through the Internet.

    So, check, out the episodes from the first season of Cocaine & Rhinestones at the show’s website.  Find an artist or topic that interests you and start with that episode.  One of my favorites was his take on The Louvin Brothers (Running Wild), which also inspired me to read one of the books Coe recommended.

    Yet, part of the joy is learning about people you do not know and the way Coe ties together a number of country music characters throughout the episodes. So, yes, start with a song or artist you think you know already.  But, like me, you probably will just give in and decide to go back and listen to all of the episodes of Cocaine & Rhinestones in order.  And then you will wait anxiously for Season Two.

    What is your favorite episode of Cocaine & Rhinestones? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Johnny Cash’s Concerts at San Quentin

    Johnny Cash first performed at San Quentin Prison in 1958, and one of the prisoners attending was a young Merle Haggard.

    Johnny Cash Merle Haggard

    On January 1 in 1958, Johnny Cash gave his first performance at San Quentin Prison.  It would not be his only prison concert, as prisoners often wrote the singer following the 1955 release of his hit song “Folson Prison Blues.”  At the time of his first San Quentin appearance, Cash had already played at Huntsville State Prison in 1957.

    Around a decade later in January 1968, with his career not doing well, Cash went to Folsom Prison for a concert to be recorded for an album.  He also then returned to San Quentin on February 24, 1969 to record another live album At San Quentin.  That album and At Folsom Prison became two of the best-selling live albums of all time.

    The 1969 San Quentin Concert and “San Quentin”

    One of the highlights of At San Quentin was Cash’s performance of the song he wrote about the prison, “San Quentin.”  Cash performed two new songs for the prisoners, with one being “San Quentin” and the other being “A Boy Named Sue.”  He performed “San Quentin” twice.

    Cash’s most famous prison song, “Folsom Prison Blues” conveys sadness and hopelessness, despite the boast about shooting a man in Reno.  But “San Quentin”is a harder song, reeking of anger: “San Quentin I hate every inch of you.” Below is Cash’s performance at San Quentin in 1969.

    The 1958 Performance and Prisoner A-45200

    Although the 1958 concert at San Quentin did not yield an album, it did significantly affect music history. A year earlier, an 18-year-old man had been arrested for burglary and, after an attempt to escape from jail, he was sent to San Quentin Prison. Although a judge sentenced the man to fifteen years, the prisoner only ended up serving two. But during those two years, the young man attended the 1958 Johnny Cash concert. And it helped inspire the young prisoner, whose number was A-45200 and whose name was Merle Haggard. The prisoner worked to change his ways, joined a prison band, and devoted his own life to country music.

    Haggard later recalled Johnny Cash’s performance at the prison. “He had the right attitude. He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards—he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us.”

    For more on Merle Haggard, the following clip features Haggard talking about his stint at San Quentin (starting at around the 17-minute mark).



    What is your favorite prison song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Merle Haggard, The Impressionist

    Merle Haggard Impersonation

    We all know Merle Haggard was a great talented songwriter and singer. But a clip from The Glen Campbell Show also shows his impressionist talents.  He was pretty good at copying the voices of some other country music greats.

    In this video, Haggard impersonates several great country singers.  He does his version of Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Buck Owens, and Johnny Cash.

    Also in this segment, Buck Owens and Johnny Cash show up to join in the fun. Check it out.

    See our previous post on Johnny Cash’s impersonation of Elvis Presley.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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