Merle Haggard

Country legend Merle Haggard hardly needs an introduction, but for many fans of today's pop country hits, Haggard may fall outside of their normal radars. Haggard was instrumental in country's music's ascension to critical and commercial acclaim in the 1960s and throughout his career, he aided in putting a genre based on honesty and storytelling on the map before most anyone else. It may come as a surprise to many that Haggard grew up in California despite the genre's mostly Southern roots, but Haggard's raw, Fender Telecaster-driven take on sounds coming from Nashville set a precedent for a whole generation of innovative musicians.