Alcohol, prison, drugs and poverty. Merle Haggard, who experienced all four, spent his life singing about America’s outcasts and dropouts. Creator of the Bakersfield sound, he stripped country music down to make its message even more striking.

Merle Haggard was a true American star, admired by all. Between 1966 and 1987, he had no less than 38 number-one hits on U.S. country charts, and was fully attuned with America, its traditions as well as its contradictions… Whenever San Quentin State Prison and country music are brought up, it’s hard not to think of Johnny Cash and the legendary live performance he recorded there. But Merle Haggard also went to San Quentin… to serve a three-year sentence…

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