merle haggard

The 25 Best Country Songs About Death

The 25 Best Country Songs About Death

There is no genre with as rich a history of songs about many forms of death–by natural causes, murder, suicide, war, accidents, and so on–than country.

The 10 Best Country Albums of 2010

The 10 Best Country Albums of 2010

The synthesis of the past, present, and future was so much of what country music was about in 2010. Country was still fairly male-dominated in the era, although the changing winds, wherein women would create the most forward-looking music, were already beginning to blow.

The Whiskey Gentry: Dead Ringer

The Whiskey Gentry: Dead Ringer

This solid country-rock record keeps getting distracted by singer Lauren Staley Morrow's lyrics about her insecurities.
Lee Hazlewood: 13

Lee Hazlewood: 13

Lee Hazlewood's 13 is an excellent -- if uncanny -- addition to his eclectic body of work, a fascinating document for devoted fans and curious newcomers alike.
Persona and Modern Music in 17 Songs

Persona and Modern Music in 17 Songs

Persona -- the “I” of the song -- has evolved, broadened, and expanded to more fully represent a diversity of experiences as well as emotional, political, and cultural orientations.
Holding on to Hag: Remembering Merle Haggard 1937-2016

Holding on to Hag: Remembering Merle Haggard 1937-2016

Merle Haggard died at age 79, leaving behind a legacy of authentic country music.
2015 Nelsonville Music Festival – 28-31 May, 2015 (Photos)

2015 Nelsonville Music Festival – 28-31 May, 2015 (Photos)

Merle Haggard, St. Vincent, and the Flaming Lips headed up another eclectic year at Ohio's Nelsonville Music Festival.
A Yarn-Spinning Tale about Country Music Legend Merle Haggard

A Yarn-Spinning Tale about Country Music Legend Merle Haggard

David Cantwell writes from the heart and the results are, like the subject, highly unconventional and completely memorable.

Merle Haggard: 31 October 2013 – Carmel, IN

Merle Haggard: The Running Kind

Getting Gone: David Cantwell’s Take on the Iconic Merle Haggard

‘The Encyclopedia of Country Music: Second Edition’ Lives Up to Its Name