Merle Haggard, alive and well

[Kevin Hatton]

I just saw Merle Haggard on Friday night. They are are going to have to hammer him into the ground before he stops singing country music, and when they do he'll be looking up and singing "Swing'n Doors". You just can't stop Haggard's spirit! He sounded good, but what impressed me was his guitar playing. Pure Merle. He was excellent. Like he was purposely letting us know that he's still here and doing it. He took at least half the leads. Pure Merle Haggard style on Tele. His son also played excellent lead. With all the fly by nighters happening today it was a pleasure seeing Merle Haggard the legend still doing it. I also got a chance to talk with Norm. Another legend. We had a nice conversation about the early days of steel guitar and equipment. God bless Merle Haggard. They broke the mold when Haggard was made.

[Clyde Mattocks]

I agree Kevin. I saw him last year. While he's not the Merle of 30 years ago, he does a man's job with what he has. Over the years, his guitar playing has become quite respectable and has personality and soul. it's like, what he may have lost vocally, he has thrown into his playing, so the package is still there.