Fifty-six years ago today, Merle Haggard reluctantly recorded what would later become the cornerstone of a massively successful album.

"This publication was created by the staff of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum"--Title page verso. "Published on the occasion of the exhibition The Bakersfield sound : Buck Owens, Merle ...

Only Merle Haggard. Never one who was shy or too scared to speak his mind, Merle was good friends with Ray Benson, frontman of Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, who recalled a great story about ...