Ol’ Possum and the Hag.
There will truly never be two personalities like George Jones and Merle Haggard ever again.
From their unique stories growing up, spending their childhood to early adulthood in trouble with the law, and later becoming the faces of country music while making some wild memories along the way, they have forever etched their faces on the Mount Rushmore of country music.
According to Rolling Stone, the two met at the Blackboard Café in Bakersfield California back in 1961, where Haggard was playing a show.
Jones was in the building that night, and after the show he told Haggard that he was his favorite country singer at the time, and the two struck up a bond that would be kept until Jones passed away in 2013.
Their relationship was a lot of tough love at times, as Haggard would get on to Jones about his struggles with substance abuse later on in his career, but Haggard assured that it was always because of how much he cared for Jones, and wanted to see him well.
With that being said, I was digging through the vaults and discovered this gem from back in 1996.
Haggard made an appearance on “Prime Time Country,” where he began to do impersonations of Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash.
Once the host asked him to impersonate George Jones, Jones walked out onto the stage and surprised Haggard.
At the time, Haggard was 59 and Jones was 65, and the two shared a cool moment on stage together, reminiscing on all the good times they had over their careers, and also recalling the night they met.
And when the host asked them if their troubled pasts played a role in their incredible songwriting, Jones hilariously responded:
“Well first of all we caused most of it…”
Haggard then added:
“Back when he and I was growing up, if you didn’t start something there wouldn’t be nothing.”
Just another cool moment in country music history.
Check it out:
