“A WORLD WITHOUT HAGGARD” – By Des Kelly
He was born in America on the 6th day of April, 1937, spent most of his young years breaking out of disciplinary institutions, and later, jails, for insisting that “breaking the law” was something he wanted to do, and did, until he met, for the first time, the man in black, Johnny Cash, in the process of doing a concert especially for jail inmates. Johnny advised this headstrong young man to quit crime and do something worthwhile, rather than spend his entire life behind bars.
Merle Haggard decided to take this good advice and ended up as one of the greatest Country-Music Stars that America has ever seen. He died on his 79th birthday, 6th April, 2016.
Vince Gill, another famous Star in the American Country Sky, is a superb Session Guitarist, Vocalist, and even more importantly, a Songwriter, penned this tribute to a man who was idolized by millions of Country Music fanatics everywhere, this time, also getting the services of Steel-Guitarist named Paul Franklin, who not only played this instrument expertly, but actually manufactured the Franklin Steel Guitar which he used on the recording of this rather sad song, that had a trio of Merle’s sons, Marty, Ben & Noel in the audience, together with many of other Country Artistes old and young who were, in turn, obviously rapt with this deserved tribute to the “Grand-Master” of Country Music.
I decided to include this recording on e’Lanka simply to prove that Vocal tributes such as this, would never be seen or heard, except on Country Music (The Story Of Life & Death, as we know it), this time, on the sad subject of “A WORLD WITHOUT HAGGARD”.
Unfortunately, this happens in many families, and although he did not go into details about it, Merle Haggard, being a Songwriter, in addition to the King of Country Music (in my opinion),also had an older brother named Francis with whom he had fallen out, as sometimes happens, even in the best of families, and, this being the case, he decided to write this song which also happened to be one of the last that he wrote, before he, too, went on-stage in a much better place. I absolutely loved the song, and this moving rendition coming from one brother to another. To all my readers and members of e’Lanka, here’s hoping that every one of you will somehow end up, as I have, Listening to the wind.
Please watch this most famous Country Icon singing this tribute to his brother Fran, published on Sept.9th 2008, and scoring more than two and a half million views in next to no time.
Desmond Kelly.
(Editor-in-Chief) eLanka.
