Haggard,Merle Hag-Studio Recordings 1968-1976 CD

A true legend of American music captured in his prime! The follow-up to Bear Family's hugely acclaimed 'Untamed Hawk' set All the studio recordings between 1969 and 1976, including 15 straight #1 country hits. Includes Vietnam era classics like Okie From Muskogee and The Fightin' Side Of Me, as well as the more moderate unreleased song Somewhere In Between. More than 20 other unreleased performances! Merle Haggard occupies a unique place in American music. The man who gave voice to the Silent Majority went on to become a counter-culture favourite. He has scored hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and still works 200 sold-out road dates a year. Ever since Bear Family released 'Untamed Hawk' in 1995, we've been asked for a follow-up comprising the rest of his legendary Capitol recordings. This is it?on 6 CDs, and it covers the tumultuous years between 1968 and 1976. The only exclusions are his Jimmie Rodgers tribute (already issued on a single CD by Bear Family) and the live recordings, which will be released in a companion volume. These were the years when Merle Haggard polarized the USA with songs like Okie From Muskogee and The Fightin' Side Of Me, yet, as this set reveals, his approach to politics was more nuanced than many thought at the time. In an unreleased song (one of many) titled Somewhere In Between he says 'I stand looking at the left wing, and I turn towards the right, and my eyes find both good and bad there on either scene... ' He adds, I'm not too old to understand the young who disagree. ' The unissued recordings also include his original version of That's The Way Love Goes, which became a big hit for him on Epic Records several years later. These were Merle Haggard's golden years when he gave voice to the voiceless, and scored an unbroken string of #1 hits. This is American country music? make that American music? at it's finest.

1. I'd Rather Be Gone 2. Montego Bay 3. I Die Ten Thousand Times a Day 4. California on My Mind 5. California Cotton Fields 6. White Line Fever 7. I Came So Close to Failure 8. Workin' Man Blues 9. The Sea Shores of Old Mexico 10. Okie from Muskogee 11. If I Had Left It Up to You 12. Streets of Berlin 13. Huntsville 14. Train of Life 15. They're Tearing the Labor Camps Down 16. The Fightin' Side of Me 17. I Wonder What She'll Think About Me Leaving 18. No Reason to Quit 19. Jesus, Take a Hold 20. I Ain't Got Nobody 21. New York City Blues 22. One Row at a Time 23. Shelly's Winter Love 24. I'll Be a Hero When I Strike 25. If You've Got Time (To Say Goodbye) 26. I'm a Good Loser 27. I Can't Be Myself 28. I've Done It All 29. One Sweet Hello 30. Worried, Unhappy, Lonesome and Sorry 31. Somewhere in Between 32. The Sidewalks of Chicago 33. The Farmer's Daughter 34. Tulare Dust 35. When the Feelin' Goes Away 36. Soldier's Last Letter 37. The Only Trouble with Me 38. Making Believe 39. Big Time Annie's Square 40. You're the Only Girl in the Game 41. The Conversion of Ronnie Jones 42. Carolyn 43. It's Great to Be Alive 44. Someday We'll Look Back 45. Somewhere in Between 46. My Heart Would Know 47. Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) 48. Goodbye Comes Hard for Me 49. The Man Who Picked the Wildwood Flower 50. You Don't Love Me (But I'll Always Care) 51. This Cold War with You 52. Irma Jackson 53. Recitation: The Proudest Fiddle in the World (A Maiden's Prayer) 54. Turnin' Off a Memory 55. Grandma Harp 56. They're Tearin' the Labor Camps Down 57. Bill Woods from Bakersfield 58. Old Doc Brown 59. A Shoulder to Cry on 60. The Funeral 61. Bring It on Down to My House, Honey 62. Combine Blues 63. Blues Stay Away from Me 64. Tired of Your Understanding Ways 65. Hag's Dixie Blues #2 66. I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares for Me) 67. Moanin' the Blues 68. Don't Let the Deal Go Down 69. Stingeree 70. Lovesick Blues 71. Blues for Dixie 72. I Forget You Every Day 73. A Shoulder to Cry on 74. I Know An Ending When It Comes 75. Dad's Old Fiddle 76. I'm a White Boy 77. I Wonder Where I'll Find You at Tonight 78. My Woman Keeps Lovin' Her Man 79. It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) 80. Somewhere to Come When It Rains 81. My Woman Keeps Lovin' Her Man 82. I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me 83. To Each His Own 84. I Wonder What She'll Think About Me Leaving 85. I'm An Old, Old Man (Tryin' to Live While I Can) 86. I'd Never Told on You 87. I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me 88. I Forget You Every Day 89. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) 90. If We Make It Through December 91. I'll Break Out Tonight 92. Love and Honor Never Crossed Your Mind 93. This Is the Song We Sing 94. There's Just One Way 95. The Emptiest Arms in the World 96. Come on Into My Arms 97. Radiator Man from Waco 98. Uncle Lem 99. Daddy Won't Be Home Again for Christmas 100. Bobby Wants a Puppy for Christmas 101. Silent Night 102. Winter Wonderland 103. White Christmas 104. Silver Bells 105. Jingle Bells 106. Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card 107. Santa Claus and Popcorn 108. White Man Singin' the Blues 109. Better Off When I Was Hungry 110. Things Aren't Funny Anymore 111. That's the Way Love Goes 112. Got a Letter from My Kid Today 113. Honky Tonk Night Time Man 114. A Man's Got to Give Up a Lot 115. The Girl Who Made Me Laugh 116. No More Trains to Ride 117. Holding Things Together 118. So Long Train Whistle 119. September in Miami 120. A King Without a Queen 121. It Don't Bother Me 122. Travelin' 123. Don't Give Up on Me 124. Here in 'Frisco 125. Railroad Lady 126. Old Man from the Mountain 127. Mirrors Don't Lie 128. Movin' on 129. The Seeker 130. Kentucky Gambler 131. You'll Always Be Special to Me 132. Life's Like Poetry 133. I've Got a Darlin' (For a Wife) 134. These Mem'ries We're Making Tonight 135. The Hobo 136. The Coming and the Going of the Trains 137. My Love Affair with Trains 138. The Silver Ghost 139. Where Have All the Hobos Gone 140. I Won't Give Up My Train 141. Union Station 142. When My Last Song Is Sung 143. I've Got a Yearning 144. Always Wanting You 145. Nothin's Worse Than Losing 146. Colorado 147. The Roots of My Raising 148. Living with the Shades Pulled Down 149. After Loving You 150. Cotton Patch Blues 151. Runnin' Kind 152. Walk on the Outside 153. Let's Stop Pretending (Dirty Old Hat Band) 154. Right or Wrong 155. It's All in the Movies 156. The Way It Was in '51 157. Goodbye Lefty 158. I Never Go Around Mirrors 159. Am I Standing in Your Way? 160. A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today 161. The Waltz You Saved for Me 162. Cherokee Maiden 163. What Have You Got Planned Tonight, Diana 164. Here Comes the Freedom Train 165. Campaign of '76