Posted on 04/07/2016 8:40:59 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Merle Haggard, the country music icon who died Wednesday, credited President Ronald Reagan for playing a central role in helping him realize his dreams.
“He was a wonderful man in my life. He gave me a second chance at life in the form of the pardon he gave me,” Haggard said in a CMT interview after Reagan’s death in 2004.
Haggard, an acclaimed songwriter and performer, was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and one of the most influential figures in popular music —not just in country circles.
Haggard died at home in Northern California on the morning of his 79th birthday, his agent told reporters. Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008, he had battled pneumonia since December.
Born into a poor family in 1937, Haggard spent his youth as a small-time criminal before serving time in San Quentin State Prison for burglary. After being paroled in 1960, he successfully pursued a music career. His hits in the 1960s included “Branded Man,” “Mama Tried,” “Workin’ Man Blues,” “The Bottle Let Me Down,” “The Fightin’ Side of Me,” and, of course, “Okie From Muskogee.”
In 1972, Haggard received a full pardon from Reagan, then governor of California. Officials determined he had been improperly convicted.
“God, it meant everything,” Haggard told CMT of Reagan’s decision to grant him the full pardon.
Many of his most memorable songs followed the pardon, including “Today I Started Loving You Again,” “If We Make It Through December,” “Big City,” “Pancho and Lefty,” “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” “Living With the Shades Pulled Down,” and “Are the Good Times Really Over.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
Not to this extent, but Reagan meant a lot to me, and I know no other political figure gave me comfort just knowing they were on the job.
It was morning in America. It soon will be again.
AMEN!
As bad as things are, I hate to think of where we'd be today if not for him. It may not be an exaggeration to say that conservatism might no longer exist.
As a young boy, I witnessed the nation’s incredible transformation from Carter to Reagan. It was astonishing. Proud to say I was old enough to vote for him in his reelection bid. I am not ashamed to say I loved him and miss him every day.
As a lifetime, professional Rock and Roll musician I want to say I truly loved and respected Merle Haggard’s music and songwriting ability. In my opinion he was the greatest country songwriter ever.
RIP you ole’ Okie from Muskogee.
It’s sweet, yet painful to think of the Reagan days.
I was 12 when he was elected but knew already he was a good man.
“Tear down this wall!” What courage!! What manliness!! What conviction!!
He tore down an entire communist regime.
Now we have rainbow colors on the white house.
M4L Merle
I was lucky enough to vote for him twice.
Glad you got to do it at least once.
Hey, I feel the same way about him.
He’s like that second father figure or something. I really liked the guy.
Certainly Merle wouldn’t have considered himself as a Republican nor a Conservative, but I think this shows something about Reagan’s ability to reach out to those who weren’t necessarily politically aligned with him, it’s an art sadly lost on today’s politicians.
When I was in transition, from a relative “liberal” to a staunch conservative, I had a dream about Reagan where he was sitting in casual dress, with head hanging, in an otherwise empty bus terminal. I approached him and said, “Mr. President?...” And he proceeded to tell me all that he was up against.
While it’s always been hazy what he said in those spoken parts, I’ll always remember his honesty. And it remains to this day the most vivid dreamed impression of my life.
Thanks for sharing that Doug. I have always believed that our dreams ‘speak’ to us, sometimes from within our own souls, sometimes from the souls of others, or from somewhere just beyond our senses.
bump for later
Merle might have said Jimmie Rodgers was the Greatest - very humble man Merle Haggard and there will never ever be another
It was morning in America. It soon will be again.
When Cruz wins the nomination and wins the General Election it will be the second coming of Reagan!!!
We'll have a Latino Reagan in the Whitehouse!
Bull s—t!
It will be the third Bush term.
Ted couldn’t hold a candle to Reagan.
I had previously recommended to you Thomas a Kempis' Imitation of Christ. Now let me recommend Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen's Life of Christ, an astounding book. Bishop Sheen served for many years as Auxiliary Bishop of the New York Archdiocese under Francis Cardinal Spellman. IIRC, you live on Staten Island which I believe is in that Archdiocese. Later, Bishop Sheen became the presiding bishop and diocesan ordinary of Rochester, NY. He wrote about 100 books as well as doing his absolutely successful television series Life Is Worth Living. He died in 1979.
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