Two country music legends who are no longer with us, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, both have had material they recorded released posthumously. It's great for their fans who still want more of their genius to enjoy after they passed on. Now the late Merle Haggard's sons say that their dad also left behind plenty of archival music, per Whiskey Riff.
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Per the outlet, Haggard's sons, Noel and Ben, were on the Drifting Cowboy podcast talking about the treasure trove of Merle's recordings they have become aware of. Ben shared, "Oh yeah. Yeah. There's some stuff we've been messing around with in the studio. There's stuff of his, you know, a good amount of archive. Live shows and stuff... my mother will probably end up doing something with. Getting some stuff out there."
These Songs Might Be Made Public at Some Point
Among the material are new songs that have not been heard before now. Ben hinted that those tunes should "find a way out." He explained, "There's stuff that has never been heard, new songs and stuff out there, for certain. Which need to find a way out, if you ask me."
Haggard Left Behind Home Movies as Well
Noel mentioned, "There's some homemade movies that he used to do in Bakersfield. There was a TV station that was going out of business, so he bought the cameras and the band, everybody... he had names for everybody... they were stating up probably longer than most people."
He continued, "I was just a little kid running wires and stuff for them, you know. But it was hilarious. He'd do commercials and everything. Those have got to be somewhere, you know."
Merle Haggard Died in 2016
The singer had a challenging life, as the bio on his web site indicates. He had run-ins with the law and was father to half a dozen children, plus he was married five times. On the other hand, he achieved huge success.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted him thirty-one years ago. The Hall said, "Merle Haggard stands, with the arguable exception of Hank Williams, as the single most influential singer-songwriter in country music history."
Quite an accolade, and a very well-deserved one.
