. . . or click on the link here for Audio Player – NPR – Voices In The Wind – Merle Haggard Interview – Oct. 6, 1974 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection.
Merle Haggard is one of those artists whose music and message transcend genres and styles. People who are avowed Country Music phobes listen to and like Merle Haggard. The reason is pretty simple; Merle Haggard’s music speaks to a set of Human values – the ones that play no favorites to type; they are universal. They speak of the human condition. And because of that, his music has always been outside the conventional mold of Country-Western Music, and why Merle Haggard has been referred to as Poet Of The Common Man.
In 1974, NPR ran a series of interview programs called Voices In The Wind. They featured an eclectic mix of interviews with people deeply involved in music, arts and culture; spanning a vast range of genres – but all with the common denominator of being good.
It was one of those programs, from October of 1974, that featured this interview with Merle Haggard. Not so much talking about the Music as much as the Man – and for that, this is a unique and very revealing and compelling interview.
Enjoy.
