Country legend–hell, music legend–Merle Haggard is recovering from a Monday trip under the knife to remove a cancerous growth from his lung. Haggard is one of the few left from country’s outlaw era and he’s still making pretty good records today, so let’s enjoy a few of his best tracks while wishing him a swift return to health.
“Mama Tried”:
“Working Man’s Blues”:
“White Line Fever”:
“Swinging Doors”:
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The great “Hag” has provided two of my musical highlights of the year. First is the startlingly fine “Last of the Breed,” his ’08 release with Willie Nelson and Ray Price; cut for cut, it’s as pleasurable as almost anything released out this year (and at least as consistent as, say, the terrific, critically adored items from Seun Kuti or Raphael Saadiq).
Then there’s “Same Train, A Different Time,” a ’69 Jimmie Rodgers tribute I was embarrassed to discover only this year. A more potent shot of country blues I haven’t heard in many a year — only it goes down smooth. May he recover soon.