Merle Haggard net worth as of 2023 is estimated to be around $5 Million. He is a well-known American singer, songwriter, and musician. Along with fellow country music legend Buck Owens and Merle Haggard’s band The Strangers, the “Hag” is credited with contributing to the development of “the Bakersfield sound”. A Fender Telecaster guitar’s twang and classic country steel guitar’s distinctive blend defined the Bakersfield sound. Haggard joined an additional, growing trend in the 1970s known as the outlaw country movement, and his popularity grew steadily through the 2000s.
Haggard was sent to a juvenile detention centre in 1950 for shoplifting, one of several minor legal offences he committed in his youth, which also included thefts and writing back checks. Along with a companion, he was once detained for robbery; however, when the real criminals were discovered, they were both released. The cops detained him in 1957 after attempting to rob a Bakersfield roadhouse. After getting detained in a Bakersfield jail, he attempted to escape. And, was moved to California’s San Quentin Prison. Moreover, President Reagan pardoned Haggard in 1972.
Merle Haggard Net Worth
At the time of his passing in 2016, Merle Haggard, an American singer, songwriter, and musician who specialised in country and western music, had a $5 million net worth.
Early Life
James Francis and Flossie Mae Haggard were the parents of Haggard. He was born on April 6, 1937 in Oildale, California. Over the span of the Great Depression, the family had moved from Oklahoma to California. His father started working for the Sante Fe Railroad while simultaneously converting an old boxcar into a home for his family. The death of Haggard’s father affected him when he was nine years old at the time. His father died in 1946 due to a brain haemorrhage.
At the age of 12, Haggard got a guitar from his older brother, and he immediately started playing. Hank Williams, Bob Wills, and Lefty Frizzell were among the musicians who influenced him. Additionally, he started encountering problems, which ultimately resulted in him locked into a juvenile detention centre. As soon as the authorities released him, he and his companion Bob Teague fled to Texas.
He spent his early years primarily in and out of several detention centres since he frequently got into trouble for stealing. After attempting to escape from the Bakersfield Jail, he got a prison sentence at San Quentin in February 1958. Merle attended a Johnny Cash performance that would go down in history while he was a prisoner at San Quentin.
Merle Haggard Bio
| Name | Merle Haggard |
| Date Of Birth | Apr 6, 1937 |
| Age | 79 years old |
| Birthplace | Oildale |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.75 m) |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Guitarist, Musician, Singer-songwriter, Actor, Fiddler, Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Record producer |
| Net Worth 2023 | $5 Million |
Career
Haggard started digging ditches for his brother’s electrical contracting business after getting out of jail. Along with Tally Records, he began performing. Haggard blended in well with the Bakersfield sound, a country music subgenre that had just emerged in response to the overproduced Nashville style at the time. The title of his debut album was “Singing My Heart Out.”
Later on, when performing at a Wynn Stewart Show in Las Vegas, he heard Wynn’s “Sing a Sad Song.” In 1964, the recording he made after requesting permission to do so became a big hit. His 1967 album “Branded Man,” which was both a critical and economic success for Haggard, was the culmination of his subsequent successful song releases.
By the end of the 1960s, Haggard had composed a number of hit songs, including “Mama Tried,” “Hungry Eyes,” “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde,” and “Sing Me Back Home.” He released “Okie from Muskogee” in 1969. The song got massive media attention, which topped the country charts for a month. This song, along with “The Fightin’ Side of Me” and “I Wonder If They Think of Me,” got appreciation as the anthem of the American Silent Majority. Further, it acknowledged for encouraging a patriotic movement in American country music.
Awards And Nominations
Haggard has received a lot of honours and awards during the course of his career. The Academy of Country Music, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and Country Music Association, have all given him numerous honours. He received his first induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977, and his second, into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in 1994. Further, he received his induction into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 1997. He also got a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a BMI Icon award at the 54th annual BMI Pop Awards in the same year for his lifetime contributions to country music.
Personal Life
Throughout his life, Haggard married five times. He wed Leona Hobbs in 1956. Dana, Mary, Kelli, and Noel were their four children together before they split in 1964. He wed Bonnie Owens, a vocalist, in 1965. He attributes Owens’ assistance in giving him his big break as a country musician. She raised Haggard’s kids from his first marriage. Even after their 1978 divorce, they remained close friends.
Prior to her passing in 2006, Owens served as the maid of honour in Haggard’s third marriage and remained his backup vocalist. Further, Haggard and Leona Williams got married in 1978. In 1983, they separated. He married Debbie Parret in 1985, two years later, and they later got divorced in 1991. He wed Theresa Ann Lane, his fifth spouse, in 1993. Ben and Jenessa, were two kids born from their union.
Death of Merle Haggard
While Haggard had already undergone surgery to remove a portion of his lungs, it was revealed in November 2008 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He performed two shows in Bakersfield a few months later before continuing his tour and recording career. He underwent treatment for pneumonia in December 2015, necessitating the cancellation of numerous performances. His concerts were postponed in March 2016 due to persistent pneumonia, which led to another hospitalisation for him.
He died in his Palo Cedro, California, residence early on April 6, 2016, as a result of complications from pneumonia. On that day, he became 79 years old.
Real Estate
Merle Haggard spent his final decades residing on a 200-acre estate in the Californian town of Palo Cedro. The land had approximately 1,000 acres at one point, but he lost all but 200 of them as part of his 1993 bankruptcy restructuring.
FAQs
3. How tall is Merle Haggard?
Merle Haggard is 1.75 m tall.
4. How old is Merle Haggard?
Born on April 6, 1937, Merle Haggard died when he was 79 years old.
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