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MERLE HAGGARD & THE STRANGERS
Nashville 1982 [no label, 1CD]
Live at Opryland, Nashville, TN; 1982. Very good Silver Eagle radio broadcast.
Along with Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country steel guitar sound, new vocal harmony styles in which the words are minimal, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville Sound recordings of the same era.
Married and plagued by financial issues, he was arrested in 1957 shortly after he tried to rob a Bakersfield roadhouse. He was sent to Bakersfield Jail, and was later transferred after an escape attempt to San Quentin Prison, on February 21, 1958. While in prison, Haggard discovered that his wife was expecting a child from another man… Meanwhile, fellow prison inmate “Rabbit” had successfully escaped, only to shoot a police officer and return to San Quentin for execution. The execution of “Rabbit” also helped to inspire Haggard to turn his life around. Haggard soon earned a high school equivalency diploma and kept a steady job in the prison’s textile plant, while also playing for the prison’s country music band, attributing a 1958 performance by Johnny Cash at the prison as his main inspiration to join it. Upon his release in 1960, Haggard said it took about four months to get used to being out of the penitentiary and that, at times, he actually wanted to go back in. He said it was the loneliest he had ever felt. According to Rolling Stone, “In 1972, then–California governor Ronald Reagan expunged Haggard’s criminal record, granting him a full pardon.”
“Okie From Muskogee”, “The Fightin’ Side of Me”, and “I Wonder If They Think of Me” were hailed as anthems of the Silent Majority and presaged a trend in patriotic songs that would reappear years later with Charlie Daniels’ “In America”, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”, and others. - wikipedia
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Thanks to cpferris for sharing the show at Dime.
cpferris noted:
Here’s another one I always enjoyed. It seems that you see the 1980 and 1981 FM broadcasts circulate most frequently, but this 1982 one has always been a personal fave. Lots of songs you rarely hear Merle perform (at least in live recordings that circulate). I’ve always loved the version of Leonard played here.
Lineage:
FM > WAV > CDR > XLR > WAV > FLAC
Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (224 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.
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Track 01. Misery And Gin 2:50 (4.8MB)
Track 02. Brain Cloudy Blues 3:53 (6.5MB)
Track 03. I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink 3:23 (5.7MB)
Track 04. You’re My Favorite Memory Of All 3:28 (5.8MB)
Track 05. Silver Wings 2:57 (4.9MB)
Track 06. Workin’ Man Blues 3:01 (5.1MB)
Track 07. Always Late With Your Kisses 3:03 (5.1MB)
Track 08. Our Past May Never Cross 4:08 (7.0MB)
Track 09. Miss The Mississippi And You 4:33 (7.7MB)
Track 10. Mama Tried 2:44 (4.6MB)
Track 11. Today I Started Loving You Again 5:35 (9.4MB)
Track 12. San Antonio Rose 3:38 (6.1MB)
Track 13. Swingin’ Doors 3:05 (5.2MB)
Track 14. All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers 2:34 (4.3MB)
Track 15. Big City 3:01 (5.1MB)
Track 16. Leonard 3:08 (5.3MB)
Track 17. Stay All Night 2:57 (4.9MB)
Track 18. Faded Rose 1:02 (1.7MB)
Track 19. A Maiden’s Prayer 1:36 (2.7MB)
Track 20. Fiddle Breakdown 3:18 (5.5MB)
Track 21. I’m Almost Ready 3:19 (5.6MB)
Track 22. The Bull And The Beaver 2:37 (4.4MB)
Track 23. Okie From Muskogee 2:20 (3.9MB)
Track 24. Rainbow Stew 2:18 (3.9MB)
75 mins
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