Good news, Outsiders! Country music stars Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Joe Nichols, and several others will tribute the late Merle Haggard at the Grand Ole Opry.
The late singer-songwriter certainly had a wild life. From serving time to prison to rising to the tops of country music charts, Haggard certainly made a name for himself. And clearly, his musical talents haven’t been forgotten. The Grand Ole Opry created the ultimate tribute to Merle Haggard. On Wednesday, April 6, several singers influenced by the late star will cover some of his songs for one night only! These singers also plan to perform their own songs that were influenced by Haggard.
The Nashville music venue recently posted the exciting news on their Instagram. The caption reads, “The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate one of country music’s most influential artists, @merlehaggardofficial, on the anniversary of both his birth and his death, Wednesday, April 6.”
Aside from Johnson, Wilson, and Nichols, the night will include performances from Suzy Bogguss, Eli Paperboy Reed. The Hag’s son, Marty Haggard, is also slated to take the Opry stage.
Tickets for the tribute at The Grand Ole Opry, “Opry Salutes Merle Haggard,” go on sale tomorrow, March 10th at 10 AM.
Dolly Parton Opened Up About Her Relationship with Merle Haggard: ‘Heard He Had a Crush on Me’
Back in January, country legend Dolly Parton shared a secret about her past relationship with Merle Haggard.
Parton has embraced her flirty personality. However, she never let it go too far as her number one love has always been her husband, Carl Dean. But she did choose to open up about her relationship with the late Merle Haggard in her 2020 book, “Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.”
“Merle Haggard was a special, special person,” Dolly wrote in her book. “I heard he had a crush on me. All I knew was that we had a great relationship. When I was on the road with Porter’s show, we traveled some together. Merle would ride on my bus sometimes, and we’d play card games together. We just had a really good time. But I never thought about him romantically.”
Although Parton insisted she never cheated on her husband with Haggard, that didn’t stop the media from fueling the fire to their stories. “We never had an affair or anything like that. We were just buddies, as far as I was concerned. He reminded me of my brother Denver, so I really related to him. We had a good time, and we loved each other’s music,” Parton wrote in her book.
‘The Hag:’ Merle Haggard Biography
After over six years since Merle Haggard died on his 79th birthday, a biography about the country singer was released on January 18, 2022. According to Amazon, Marc Eliot’s “The Hag: The Life, Times, and Music of Merle Haggard,” is claimed to be the concrete biography of the late country singer. “Haggard was one of the most important country music musicians who ever lived. His astonishing musical career stretched across the second half of the 20th century. And it’s the first two decades of the next.”
