The Hag

January 1, 2022

In his latest addition to an impressive oeuvre of biographies of actors and singers, Eliot (American Titan: Searching for John Wayne) chronicles the life of country-western star Merle Haggard (1937-2016). Eliot follows Haggard, the mercurial singer known for his outlaw persona, from his rebellious teenage years to his time in prison, through a half-dozen marriages, constant tours, and the pinnacle of his commercial and artistic success. Country music legends such as Lefty Frizzell, Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson make appearances, and Eliot interviews Haggard's family and roadies and recording industry insiders. Details on album tracks and personnel, as well as the songwriter's craft, add valuable information, as do the chapter notes and bibliography, discography, and list of awards. Those who know Haggard only for songs such as "Okie from Muskogee" will be treated to an in-depth look at a multifaceted performer (he even had a recurring role on TV's The Waltons) who incorporated his personal struggles into his music. Eliot deftly contrasts the ruthless music business with Haggard's own human frailties. VERDICT Likely to become the definitive Merle Haggard biography and will sit nicely alongside Haggard's own two memoirs.--Barry Zaslow

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December 1, 2021
A revealing biography of country music star and lifelong contrarian Merle Haggard (1937-2016). Raised among the oil fields of central California, he was constantly in trouble with the law as a young man, locked up in San Quentin when Johnny Cash gave a celebrated concert to the inmates. Suddenly aware that he could pursue a career in music, Haggard hit the road with songs about the life he knew, all swinging barroom doors and jailhouse floors. Eliot, who has written books about Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ochs, and the Eagles, among others, can be a trifle overblown: "I was constantly reminded of how Shakespearean the drama of his life was, how his early years echoed those of a young Hamlet, who suffers the premature death of the father he keeps alive in his dreams, dreams that produced an unshakable rage that warps the love he has for his mother and drives him to commit self-destructive acts." Still, he turns up aspects of Haggard's life and career that haven't been well documented, including his wife's terrible death from Alzheimer's and his friendship with a kid who definitely did smoke marijuana while turning millions of hippies on to Haggard's music: Gram Parsons. "He doesn't hate long-haired people, or even moderately dislike them," said Parsons to a Rolling Stone reporter. "He's a nice, sweet cat." Haggard could turn sweetness into ire but mostly for good reason, as when Bob Dylan (perhaps inadvertently) dissed him and the Nashville industry dumped him, Cash, and countless other classic country acts from the rosters in favor of new pop-country idols. Never an insider, Haggard easily took to the outlaw role. However, as Eliot shows, he was also appreciative of both the performers who had come before him and contemporaries like Dylan, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones along with Cash, Owens, Jones, and his country peers. A well-researched pleasure for die-hard Haggard fans.

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December 15, 2021
From rebel child to ramblin' man, Merle Haggard's life was never an easy one. His father died when he was just nine years old, and by the time he was 20 he was serving time in San Quentin State Prison. According to veteran biographer Eliot, Haggard was never quite able to trust anyone, which affected both his personal life and his career. His life, maintains Eliot, was Shakespearean in its ups and downs as his indisputable talent as both a singer and songwriter set him apart from other country singers of his generation. Eliot even suggests that Haggard's lyrics resemble the poetry of Robert Frost. Eliot follows the rough-and-tumble experiences of this maverick with the "movie-star looks" to his heyday as the bad boy of country music. Alas, Haggard became known for a much-maligned song, "Okie from Muskogee," which was not even typical of his output. Meant to be a homage to his father, it made him a target of the counterculture in an us-versus-them approach. Eliot offers a rich and corrective portrait of an often misunderstood figure.

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