Merle haggard in Country Music

Definitive Collection by Merle Haggard (...

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Back to the Barrooms by Merle Haggard (CD - 08/22/2006)

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Prison by Merle Haggard (CD - 09/25/2001...

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Definitive Collection by Merle Haggard (CD - 03/13/2007)

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Prison by Merle Haggard (CD - 09/25/2001)

"Prison" (09/25/2001) Country Haggard, Merle, Capitol/EMI RecordsAll tracks have been digitally remastered. Perhaps taking a cue from Columbia's theme-centered 2000 series of Johnny Cash compilations (GOD, MURDER, LOVE), Capitol gave Merle Haggard's work a similar treatment in 2001. Like Cash, Haggard was always regarded as a poet of the working class, and the four volumes of this series (HURTIN', DRINKIN', CHEATIN', and PRISON) reflect the proletarian ethos the hard-living Haggard knows so much about. The fact that his Capitol tenure encapsulated Haggard's most commercially and aesthetically successful recording years means that much more impact for this quartet of honky-tonk treasures. Haggard has more first-hand experience with the subject of PRISON than most country singers. In fact, he was serving a sentence at San Quentin when Johnny Cash played a concert there and inspired the young troublemaker to pursue a career in country music. Accordingly, some of Merle's most acclaimed songs deal with crime and punishment. The outlaw's tale of regret "Mama Tried," and the gospel-tinged death row narrative "Sing Me Back Home" are gems of the Haggard catalogue. "I Made the Prison Band" was written by Hag's Bakersfield cohort Tommy Collins, but it seems made to order for Merle's own life experience. The cold, hard facts of life have seldom been more acutely observed than in the PRISON songs of Merle Haggard.

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Drinkin' by Merle Haggard (CD - 09/25/20...

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Rainbow Stew: Live at Anaheim Stadium by...

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Drinkin' by Merle Haggard (CD - 09/25/2001)

"Drinkin'" (09/25/2001) Country Haggard, Merle, Capitol/EMI RecordsAll tracks have been digitally remastered. Perhaps taking a cue from Columbia's theme-centered 2000 series of Johnny Cash compilations (GOD, MURDER, LOVE), Capitol gave Merle Haggard's work a similar treatment in 2001. Like Cash, Haggard was always regarded as a poet of the working class, and the four volumes of this series (HURTIN', DRINKIN', CHEATIN', and PRISON) reflect the proletarian ethos the hard-living Haggard knows so much about. The fact that his Capitol tenure encapsulated Haggard's most commercially and aesthetically successful recording years means that much more impact for this quartet of honky-tonk treasures. There are few things more venerated in honky-tonk music than drinking songs, and other than George Jones there's no greater practitioner of the form than Merle. The characters in his songs turn to drink as a source of false pride ("Drink Up and be Somebody"), community (the country milestone "Swinging Doors"), and pleasant oblivion ("Wine Takes Me Away"). Ever the astute observer of the human condition, Haggard doesn't fail to point out the inevitable downside of such lifestyles, as in the aptly titled classic "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down." Still, the sense of abandon with which he describes a drunkard's pursuit of inebriation is intoxicating in and of itself, which makes DRINKIN' resonate all the more.

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Rainbow Stew: Live at Anaheim Stadium by Merle Haggard (CD - 03/25/2003)

"Rainbow Stew: Live at Anaheim Stadium" (03/25/2003) Country Haggard, Merle, Universal Special ProductsPersonnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar). Recording information: Anaheim Stadium. Photographer: Fred Valentine. Arranger: Merle Haggard. This early-1980s live concert recording features Merle Haggard on his home turf in Southern California, performing a variety of favorites, including his classic drinking songs "Misery and Gin," "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink," and "Back to the Barrooms Again." There's also a Haggard fiddle solo, as well as a nod to his musical roots in Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel #9," and to his time in San Quentin in the sentimental prison ballad "Sing Me Back Home."

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Serving 190 Proof by Merle Haggard (CD -...

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The Essential Merle Haggard: The Epic Ye...

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Serving 190 Proof by Merle Haggard (CD - 09/06/1988)

"Serving 190 Proof" (09/06/1988) Country Haggard, Merle, Universal Special ProductsDigitally remastered by Glenn Meadows and Milan Bogdan. Merle Haggard's music is great for many reasons. One is Haggard's voice, among the most expressive and beautiful in all of country music. Another is his insistence on working only with top musicians whose assets include an understanding of many traditional country styles, including folk, blues, and Western swing. Most important, though, is Haggard's ability to give voice to the quiet despair of those too romantic to give up hope but too cynical to believe those hopes could ever amount to anything but heartbreak. This last ability is particularly apparent on Haggard's SERVING 190 PROOF. Whether bemoaning the grind and loneliness of life on the road ("Footlights"), describing a doomed relationship ("Got Lonely Too Early This Morning," "Driftwood," "Red Bandana"), or turning to the bottle for solace ("Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine"), Haggard expresses a longing for a serenity he knows he'll never have. As he makes clear in the deceptively upbeat "My Own Kind Of Hat," Haggard understands perfectly well where he doesn't fit in; he just can't find a place he belongs. All that separates Haggard from his audience, he seems to be saying, is his ability to transform his melancholy into art.

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18 Rare Classics by Merle Haggard (CD - ...

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The Essential Merle Haggard: The Epic Years by Merle Haggard (CD - 08/31/2004)

"The Essential Merle Haggard: The Epic Years" (08/31/2004) Country Haggard, Merle, Legacy RecordingsPersonnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Merle Haggard; Freddy Powers, Johnny Christopher, Willie Nelson (guitar, background vocals); Pete Bordonali, Dave Kirby, Bobby Wayne, Grady Martin, Lewis Talley, Ray Edenton, Red Lane, Reggie Young , Billy Sanford, Steve Gibson, Clint Strong, Bobby Thompson, Gregg Galbraith (guitar); Weldon Myrick (steel guitar); Jim Belken (fiddle); Terry McMillan, Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Don Markham, Gary Church, Slyde Hyde (horns); Bobby Wood (keyboards, background vocals); Mark Yeary, Bobby Emmons, Buddy Emmons (keyboards); Mary Fielder, Joe Chemise, Donna Faye, Jimmy Haas, Jon Joice, Judy Rodman, Leona Williams, Roger Cook, Bonnie Owens (background vocals); Roy Nichols (guitar, harmonica); Chet Atkins, Chips Moman (guitar); Norm Hamlet (steel guitar, dobro); Johnny Gimble, Tiny Moore (mandolin, fiddle); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (keyboards); Biff Adam (drums). Liner Note Author: Angus Baley. Recording information: Nashville, TN (06/22/1981-06/29/1987); Palo Cedro, CA (06/22/1981-06/29/1987); Spicewood, TX (06/22/1981-06/29/1987); West Hollywood, CA (06/22/1981-06/29/1987). Photographers: Joe Bangay; Ron Delaney; Norman Seeff; Larry Dixon; Randee Saint Nicholas. The 1980s were a tough time for country music; mainstream Nashville was filled with watered-down MOR, and classic country singers like Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash were foundering. True to form, the famously willful Merle Haggard stuck to his guns throughout this dark era, and his stint on Epic was full of tradition-minded, emotion-filled country music as powerful as anything being recorded at the time, if not as arresting as his legendary '60s work. "Big City," from Haggard's 1981 album of the same name, became something of a staple tune. The randy "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room" reveals not only Merle's rascally nature, but his ongoing infatuation with the Western Swing sound. The mournful ballads "Going Where the Lonely Go" and "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" show Haggard's matchless way with melancholy. Duets with George Jones and Willie Nelson indicate that Haggard never lost the respect of his peers, even if his profile at the time wasn't at its highest. Many point to the late '90s as Merle's "comeback" period, but this collection proves that neither he nor his gift ever really went away.

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20 Greatest Hits by Merle Haggard (CD - ...

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18 Rare Classics by Merle Haggard (CD - 06/18/1991)

"18 Rare Classics" (06/18/1991) Country Haggard, Merle, Curb Records (USA)Includes liner notes by Barry Alfonseca. This is part of "The One And Only" Series. 18 RARE CLASSICS is an oddly organized but appealing collection of songs drawn from throughout Haggard's 10-year stay at Capitol Records. When this disc was released in 1991, many of these tracks were indeed "rare" to CD collectors (thus the title); most, however, have since been reissued on other collections. The lack of any other chronological or thematic link among these songs means that CLASSICS lacks the cohesion of other collections. Still, the material here is uniformly strong, and budget-minded shoppers will appreciate the chance to pick up eighteen Haggard recordings at one low price. One of the strengths of 18 RARE CLASSICS is the way it shows off the many facets of Haggard's music. The mix includes nostalgic ballads ("The Way It Was in '51"), social commentary ("A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today"), Western swing ("Got A Letter From My Kid Today"), and honky-tonk ("Making Believe," "Green, Green Grass Of Home"). The collection leans heavily on heartbreak ballads, which are among Haggard's many strong suits. Also included are five Top Ten singles.

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If I Could Only Fly by Merle Haggard (CD...

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20 Greatest Hits by Merle Haggard (CD - 02/26/2002)

"20 Greatest Hits" (02/26/2002) Country Haggard, Merle, Capitol/EMI RecordsDigitally remastered by Mark Chalecki (Capitol Mastering). Though Capitol Records let much of Merle Haggard's vintage '60s catalog remain unjustly out of print for too long, they began mending their ways in the 21st century with the reissue of those classic titles. Making even further amends is this almost-unassailable compilation, which nearly supplants the CAPITOL COLLECTOR'S SERIES album as THE single-disc Merle anthology to own. Merle's '60s run of hits represents one of the last times in country music that aesthetic and commercial success were working partners. With Haggard's working-man narratives, Roy Nichols's terse guitar statements, and those inimitably catchy refrains, this stuff is the very definition of the Bakersfield sound that disciples like Dwight Yoakam would build a career imitating. For as many songs about "mama" as you'll hear out of Nashville, none are as honest or as poignant as "Mama Tried." As many drinking songs as you'll find in country music, few can match the quiet drama of "The Bottle Let Me Down." Sure, there are a few key songs missing, such as "Swinging Doors," but you can only fit so much from such a rich catalog onto one disc, and there's certainly no arguing with any of the inclusions.

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Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard by Merle ...

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If I Could Only Fly by Merle Haggard (CD - 10/01/2004)

"If I Could Only Fly" (10/01/2004) Country Haggard, Merle, Epitaph Records (USA)Personnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar); Abe Manuel, Jr. (guitar, fiddle, harmonica, accordion, percussion, background vocals); Redd Volkaert, Joe Manuel, Randy Mason (guitar); Norm Hamlet (steel guitar); Candace Lavolsi (harp); Don Markham (saxophone, background vocals); Floyd Domino, Oleg Schramm (piano); Doug Colosio (keyboards); Eddie Curtis (bass); Terry Domingue (drums, percussion); Biff Adam (drums); Theresa Haggard, Ben Haggard, Jenessa Haggard (background vocals). Recorded at Merle Haggard's Tally Studio, Bakersfield, California. Includes liner notes by Jonny Whiteside. Personnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar); Abe Manuel, Jr. (guitar, harp, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, piano, percussion); Randy Mason , Joe Manuel, Redd Volkaert (guitar); Norm Hamlet (steel guitar); Don Markham (saxophone); Oleg Schramm, Floyd Domino (piano); Biff Adam (drums). Audio Mixer: Lou Bradley. Liner Note Author: Johnny Whiteside. Recording information: Merle Haggard's Tally Studio. It speaks unpleasant volumes about all sorts of things that, in the year 2000, Merle Haggard--a towering figure in country music, second only in influence to the great Hank Williams himself--probably couldn't get arrested in Nashville if he was found buggering a moose in front of the Grand Old Opry. The good news is that Haggard's first album of the millennium--released, in a delicious irony, on an indie label that made its fortune peddling hard-core punk-rock--is one of his best ever. It's a low key, but not at all autumnal collection of songs that ranges from full bore Western swing a la Bob Wills (the highly amusing "Bareback") to ethereally graceful ballads ("Listening"). Astonishingly, Haggard's never been in better voice--anybody who doesn't get a thrill out of hearing him imbue the word "wind" with four syllables is incapable of joy. His longtime backing band the Strangers play with a magisterial authority that makes just about every younger country act sound puerile by comparison. Not to be missed.

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For The Record: 43 Legendary Hits

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Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard by Merle Haggard (CD - 09/12/2006)

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For The Record: 43 Legendary Hits

"For the Record: 43 Legendary Hits" (08/24/1999) Country Haggard, Merle, BNAFOR THE RECORD contains new recordings of Merle Haggard's hits. Personnel: Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson (vocals, guitar) Jewel, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn (vocals); Abe Manuel (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, percussion, background vocals); Tim Howard, Terry Hardesty, Freddy Powers, Clint Strong, Red Lane, Red Volkaert (guitar); Norm Hamlett (steel guitar, dobro); John Hickman (banjo); Mark Howard (harmonica); Don Markham (saxophone, trumpet, background vocals); Floyd Domino, Doug Colosio, Bobby Wood (piano, keyboards); Joe Reed, Eddie Curtis (bass); Biff Adam, Terry Dominque (drums); Bonnie Owens, Teresa Lane, Debbie Parret, Al Brumley, Jr. (background vocals). Principally recorded at Tally Studio, Palo Cedro, California. Includes liner notes by Wade Jessen. Personnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar); Willie Nelson (vocals, guitar); Kix Brooks, Alabama, Ronnie Dunn (vocals); Abe Manuel, Jr. (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, percussion, background vocals); Freddy Powers, Tim Howard, Terry Hardesty, Red Lane, Redd Volkaert, Clint Strong (guitar); John Hickman (banjo); Mark Howard (harp); Don Markham (saxophone, trumpet, background vocals); Doug Colosio, Floyd Domino, Bobby Wood (piano, keyboards); Terry Domingue, Biff Adam (drums); Bonnie Owens (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Lou Bradley. Liner Note Author: Wade Jessen. Recording information: HIlltop Studio, Nashville, TN; Pedernales Studio, TX; Sound Shop Studio, Nashville, TN; Soundshop STudio, Nashville, TN; Tally Studio, Palo Cedro, CA. Photographer: Jim Shea. What Bob Dylan is to rock & roll, Merle Haggard is to country music. As Dylan built on what Chuck Berry, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie did before him to influence several generations, Haggard did the same, by building on the foundations laid by Hank Williams, George Jones, and the influential but little-heard Wynn Stewart. His sound has never strayed far from country music's roots (while also absorbing influence from jazz and blues) yet stays contemporary in the way all great songwriters do: by telling stories about life in achingly human terms. This 2-CD set has all of Haggard's hits and best-known songs, mostly written by him, re-recorded in 1999 with his touring band and some special guests. Lefty Frizzell's "That's the Way Love Goes" and the Haggard-penned classic "Silver Wings" are sung with Jewel and "Movin' On" with Brooks & Dunn. Haggard peer Willie Nelson plays guitar throughout. For fans, it's a chance to get all the old favorites in one place. For the curious, it's a way to get a superb survey of Haggard in full digital glory.

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40 #1 Hits

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40 #1 Hits

"40 #1 Hits" (03/23/2004) Country Haggard, Merle, Capitol/EMI RecordsCompilation producers: Tom Becci, Bill Kennedy. Includes liner notes by Nancy Henderson. Liner Note Author: Nancy Henderson. This extensive best-of illustrates both the breadth of Merle Haggard's songwriting and his ability to unerringly hit a nerve with the American public. Blue-collar songs, drinking songs, outlaw songs, and prison songs are all well-represented here. Barroom songs like "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink," well-known redneck anthems like "The Fightin' Side of Me" and "Okie From Muskogee," and hard-edged yet deeply felt songs like "If We Make It Through December" and "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" illustrate Haggard's identification with his hardscrabble roots and his facility with a lyric. There's also the bonus inclusion of duets with George Jones and Willie Nelson on "Yesterday's Wine" and "Pancho and Lefty," respectively. 40 #1 HITS is an enlightening overview of the most successful work of one of country music's great treasures.

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All American Country

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All American Country

"All American Country" (07/26/2005) Country Haggard, Merle, BMG Special Products

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24 All-Time Greatest Hits

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Going Where The Lonely Go/That's The... ...

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24 All-Time Greatest Hits

"24 Greatest Hits [2002]" (08/20/2002) Country Haggard, Merle, Teevee RecordsPersonnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar). Liner Note Author: Chuck Young. Though these recordings, made sometime in the 1990s, aren't the original versions, the performances by Haggard and his band on this selection of some of his most popular songs are uniformly excellent. "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" was originally Haggard's first hit single, while "Today I Started Loving You Again," written with his second wife, Bonnie Owens, started out as the B-side of his 1968 hit "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde." This collection also features a variety of semi-autobiographical songs, like "Mama's Hungry Eyes" and "Branded Man," as well as some of Haggard's well-known redneck anthems, including "Okie From Muskogee," "Fightin' Side of Me," and " I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am."

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Going Where The Lonely Go/That's The... [3/15]

"Going Where the Lonely Go/That's the Way Love Goes" (03/15/2005) Country Haggard, Merle, S & P Records2 LPs on 1 CD: GOING WHERE THE LONELY GO (1982)/THAT'S THE WAY LOVE GOES (1983). Personnel: Merle Haggard (guitar); Dave Kirby, Grady Martin, Ray Nichols, Reggie Young , Gregg Galbraith (guitar); Red Lane (acoustic guitar); Norm Hamlet (steel guitar); Tiny Moore (mandolin, fiddle); Jim Belken (fiddle); Terry McMillan (harmonica); Don Markham (horns); Bobby Wood (keyboards, background vocals); Mike Leech (electric bass); Dennis Hronek (bass guitar); Mark Yeary, Gene Chrisman, Biff Adam, Kenny Malone (drums); Mary Fielder, Roger Cook, Judy Rodman (background vocals). Audio Remasterer: Steve Hoffman. Liner Note Author: Colin Escott. Recording information: Eleven-Eleven Sound Studio, Nashville, TN; Woodland Sound Studio. Photographer: Randee Saint Nicholas. The 1980s weren't kind to Merle Haggard--the decade's air of ersatz optimism and its featherweight pop songs were anathema to his gritty, workingman ballads, while country music's newfound prissy puritan streak signaled the demise of the traditional drinking song that remained his forte. Despite his lack of chart success, however, Haggard's remarkable songwriting abilities are very much in evidence all over this budget-priced twofer--in GOING WHERE THE LONELY GO's title track, in "Why Am I Drinking" (the kind of barroom classic Haggard seemed to be able to write in his sleep), and in the painful honesty of "Half a Man." Though the focused production of THAT'S THE WAY LOVE GOES has the edge, Haggard's world-weary vocals and unerring ear for a turn of phrase make both these albums worthy of attention.

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40 Greatest Hits

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Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man [2/21] *

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40 Greatest Hits

"40 Greatest Hits" (05/25/2004) Country Haggard, Merle, IntersoundThough this two-CD set is an unusually extensive survey of Merle Haggard's back catalog of songs, it barely scratches the surface of the singer's remarkable output. Nevertheless, four decades of recordings, like his first hit, "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers", the redneck anthem "Okie From Muskogee," and the bleak "If We Make It Through December," as well as barroom classics like "Misery and Gin" and "It's Been a Great Afternoon," are proof that Haggard more than deserves his spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Hag/Someday We'll Look Back [2/21]

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Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man [2/21] *

"I'm a Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man [Remaster]" (02/21/2006) Country Haggard, Merle, Capitol Records (USA)2 LPs on 1 CD: I'M A LONESOME FUGITIVE (1967)/BRANDED MAN (1967). Audio Remasterer: Randy LeRoy. There is country and then there is country, and Merle Haggard is the good kind. In fact, Haggard's discography is so packed with fine albums, each of which are filled with such wonderful songs and performances, that few other artists can match his track record. Fortunately for the universe, Capitol reissued a bundle of Hag's early albums on too-good-to-be-true twofer packages in early 2006. BRANDED MAN and I'M A LONESOME FUGITIVE, both from 1967, are classic Hag. Both represent his no-frills, honky tonk-tinged Bakersfield sound, while being rounded out with hints of blues, western swing, and straightforward balladry. What really impresses here, in addition to Haggard's beautifully lilting voice, is the quality of the tunes, which never flags, from the two title tracks (both definitive outlaw country standards) to broken-hearted laments such as "I Threw Away the Rose" and "House of Memories." This is a sure bet for anyone remotely interested in country music, and a perfect place to start with this genre legend.

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