The Hagers

Country music has produced countless brother acts, but the Hagers offered a new twist: They were identical twins. Best known for their long stint on the TV show Hee Haw, the Hager Twins (as they were sometimes billed) were talented vocalists who could reliably deliver superb close harmonies, and their body of work ranged from straight-ahead Bakersfield country (no surprise, since they were mentored by Buck Owens) to energetic country-rock, much of it with a playful sense of humor enlivened by their youthful energy. Their best and best-known recordings were cut during their years with Capitol Records, and their three LPs for the label are featured on the 2022 collection The Complete Capitol Albums. Jon and Jim Hager were adopted by a minister as infants, and as they grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, their new parents passed along their love of country music. The brothers began performing together as teenagers, appearing at local venues and on a Saturday morning TV show aimed at other teens. After college, they served in Vietnam, primarily as entertainers for their fellow soldiers. Upon returning home, they spent a year-and-a-half performing around Chicago, then moved to Los Angeles. There they were hired by Randy Sparks of the New Christy Minstrels to appear regularly at his Ledbetter's club. A performance at Disneyland won them a fan in Buck Owens, who became their manager and added them to his touring revue for two years. Signed to Capitol, the Hagers released their debut single, "Gotta Get to Oklahoma (Cause California's Gettin' to Me)," in 1969, and followed it with their self-titled debut album the next year. They'd cut two more albums for Capitol -- 1970's Two Hagers Are Better Than One and 1971's Motherhood, Apple Pie & the Flag -- and appeared on a rare live LP with Owens, "Live" in Scandinavia, that was initially released only in a small run in Norway in 1970 before Sundazed Records reissued it in 2008. (The Hagers' three studio albums for Capitol were reissued in 2022 in the package The Complete Capitol Albums.) What started as an engagement to perform two songs on Hee Haw in 1970 turned into an 18-year association; the Hagers became regulars both as musicians and comedians. They scored two minor hit singles with Capitol, "Silver Wings" and "I'm Miles Away," but television proved to be their primary medium. They cut an album for Barnaby in 1972, and another self-titled effort for Elektra in 1974, without much commercial success. Settled into their roles, the Hagers began moonlighting in other acting roles, including the 1976 TV movie Twin Detectives with Lillian Gish; they also worked as standup comics for a time. In 1987, they left Hee Haw and co-hosted the TNN show Country Kitchen with Florence Henderson; a proposed comedy show never got off the ground. In 1990, they filmed their first music video for the single "I'm Wishin' I Could Go Fishin' Forever." Though the duo's recording career was all but over by then, they remained a popular live act and appeared periodically on television. On May 1, 2008, Jim Hager died in Nashville of a heart attack after collapsing in a Music City coffee shop. He was 66 years old. Only eight months later, Jon Hager was found dead in his apartment in Nashville on January 9, 2009, at the age of 67.
© Steve Huey & Mark Deming /TiVo