[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by oildude

Oh man. The 2016 seemingly continuous losses to the music world continue. This one is big.

RIP Merle Haggard, the Okie from Muskogee, who passed away today on his 79th birthday.

Haggard was born in California during the worst of the Great Depression to Dust Bowl migrants from Oklahoma. He was one of the pioneers of the famous Bakersfield Sound style of country and western music in the late 1950s before later becoming an icon, along with greats like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, in the 1970s of the Outlaw country movement.

And for those unaware, Haggard is part of the Criterion Collection. He can be heard in the musical score for the documentary For All Mankind. In my mind, that could also be the title of his epitaph. His songs cut across generations and were about all of us.

I have been listening to Haggard my whole life. This is indeed a very sad day.

I heard about Merle Haggard's death just a couple of minutes ago here in my office. 2016 has been a tough year so far.

Haggard's music can also be heard in Convoy, Bronco Billy, and the 1981 film, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, which is a guilty pleasure of mine.