At one point or another, all country stars are bound to run into and even work with each other, but Merle Haggard’s tie to Johnny Cash runs much deeper than mentorship or appreciation of his music.
Merle had what can only be described as a chaotic childhood. He lived in a converted boxcar with his parents, Flossie Mae and James, along with his two older brothers, not exactly a normal childhood home, but it was something and the family seemed okay until Merle’s father died when he was 9. The family still needed money, so his mother took a job as a bookkeeper, which gave Merle enough free time and lack of supervision to start making poor decisions.
He was in and out of juvenile detention centers throughout his youth, for crimes ranging from theft and writing bad checks to shoplifting, petty larceny, and assault. He and his friend also ran away at 14 by jumping trains and hitchhiking, though they did eventually come home. Music became a major part of his life during this tumultuous period, but he was never fully able to pursue it due to his continued dire circumstances and many more poor decision.
Merle got married to his first of 5 wives in 1956 and to put it mildly, they were poor, which drew him back to a life of crime. He was caught trying to rob a roadhouse and was sent to Bakersfield Jail, where he made an attempt to escape. Later in life he claimed to have escaped jail or prison 17 times, though some have argued it’s more like 5 or 6, with seventeen being the number of entries on his rap sheet.
Merle always had the idea he would one day pursue music professionally, the initial spark coming when Lefty Frizzell invited him on stage to sing when he was just a boy, but it was one fateful day in San Quentin that Merle’s mind was completely made up on turning his life over to country music.
Johnny Cash At San Quentin Prison
At this point you probably know the story well, but during one of Johnny Cash’s iconic performances at California Prisons, Merle Haggard happened to be in the crowd. Now, this wasn’t as cool of a thing in the lead up as we know it to be now. Merle viewed Cash as “kind of corny” and didn’t quite like the idea of some Nashville celebrity thinking he’d just walk into a prison and demand respect, but almost immediately his initial thoughts were disproven.
He said in an interview:
“He had the right attitude. He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards – he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us… it set a fire under me that hadn’t been there before.”
Here’s the entire story of Merle’s transformation after witnessing the power of The Man In Black.
The Hag wound up serving just 2 years of the 15 year sentence and upon leaving San Quentin, made good on the promise made to himself and became the legend we know as Merle Haggard. He drew heavily from his time behind bars, namely in songs such as “Mama Tried” and “Sing Me Back Home”.
Merle’s Secret Made Public
For some of us it’s hard to imagine a time when you didn’t really know much about your favorite artists. Social media has made celebrities immensely accessible and dedicated fans take great delight in knowing background facts on their favorites. But that’s a very recent shift. Back in the day, you pretty much only knew about an artist’s music and whatever their carefully crafted public image allowed.
So when Merle Haggard began entering the public spotlight, fans didn’t really know about his past. Not that it was some locked down secret but again, information was a lot harder to get back then, so the public didn’t know much about him.
The first time Cash found out that Merle was in the audience for one of this shows at San Quentin was during an impromptu meeting in a bathroom before they were to play a show together. Merle brought up that San Quentin show but Johnny couldn’t remember him being there, as we was thinking of him an an opener, not an audience member, but Merle let him know he was just a newly made fan that day.
Years later, in 1969, Cash invited Merle to be a guest on The Johnny Cash Show and suggested they bring up that now staple fact of country music lore. Merle wasn’t certain about it and can you blame him? He’d just done so much work to rehabilitate himself and his image, at least to those who knew him, so reopening that criminal side of him, at least in discussion, had to feel strange.
But, when The Man In Black thinks something is a good idea, you’ll probably agree and do it and that’s just what they did.
Here’s approximately how the public reveal went:
Haggard: “Funny you mention that, Johnny.”
Cash: “What?”
Haggard: “San Quentin.”
Cash: “Why’s that?”
Haggard: “The first time I ever saw you perform, it was at San Quentin.”
Cash: “I don’t remember you being in that show, Merle.”
Haggard: “I was in the audience, Johnny.”
Now, as you could imagine, ABC (who aired the show) was bombarded with letters and calls demanding to know why a convicted felon had been put on their screen but the “controversy” died out quickly as Haggard became more than just a star, but a then-modern day legend.
Had it not been for Cash’s encouragement, Merle might not be recognized as the truest of the “Outlaw” country artists. Maybe his real-life inspired songs would not have connected as intensely, maybe he would have had a quick moment but not built the lasting legacy.
Thanks to Johnny Cash being willing to take some flack (for Merle and many other prisoners) we now have Merle Haggard’s life to look on, study, and learn from.
