Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. He was a key figure in the development of the Bakersfield sound and had a career spanning more than five decades, achieving 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also appeared on the Billboard all-genre singles chart. Haggard grew up in a challenging environment and spent time in prison before beginning his music career. He became known for songs reflecting the experiences of the working class, some of which addressed themes that contrasted with the anti–Vietnam War sentiment present in some popular music of the period. Throughout his career, Haggard received numerous honors, including a Kennedy Center Honor in 2010, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, a BMI Icon Award in 2006, and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 1997. He died of pneumonia on April 6, 2016, at his ranch in Shasta County, California. Studio albums Strangers (1965) Just Between the Two of Us (1966, with Bonnie Owens and the Strangers) Swinging Doors (1966, with the Strangers) I'm a Lonesome Fugitive (1967, with the Strangers) Branded Man (1967, with the Strangers) Sing Me Back Home (1968, with the Strangers) The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde (1968, with the Strangers) Mama Tried (1968, with the Strangers) Pride in What I Am (1969, with the Strangers) Same Train, A Different Time (1969, with the Strangers) A Portrait of Merle Haggard (1969, with the Strangers) A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) (1970, with the Strangers) Hag (1971, with the Strangers) Someday We'll Look Back (1971, with the Strangers) Let Me Tell You About a Song (1972, with the Strangers) It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) (1972, with the Strangers) Merle Haggard's Christmas Present (Something Old, Something New) (1973) If We Make It Through December (1974, with the Strangers) Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album (1974, with the Strangers) Keep Movin' On (1975, with the Strangers) It's All in the Movies (1976, with the Strangers) My Love Affair with Trains (1976, with the Strangers) The Roots of My Raising (1976, with the Strangers) Ramblin' Fever (1977) A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today (1977, with the Strangers) My Farewell to Elvis (1977) I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall (1978) Serving 190 Proof (1979) The Way I Am (1980) Back to the Barrooms (1980) Songs for the Mama That Tried (1981) Big City (1981) A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (1982, with George Jones) Going Where the Lonely Go (1982) Goin' Home for Christmas (1982) Pancho & Lefty (1983, with Willie Nelson) Heart to Heart (1983, with Leona Williams) That's the Way Love Goes (1983) It's All in the Game (1984) Kern River (1985) A Friend in California (1986) Out Among the Stars (1986) Seashores of Old Mexico (1987, with Willie Nelson) Chill Factor (1987) 5:01 Blues (1989) Blue Jungle (1990) 1994 (1994) 1996 (1996) Two Old Friends (1999, with Albert Brumley, Jr.) If I Could Only Fly (2000) Cabin in the Hills (2001) Roots, Volume 1 (2001) The Peer Sessions (2002) Like Never Before (2003) I Wish I Was Santa Claus (2004) Unforgettable (2004) Chicago Wind (2005) Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again (2006, with George Jones) Last of the Breed (2007, with Willie Nelson and Ray Price) The Bluegrass Sessions (2007) I Am What I Am (2010) Working in Tennessee (2011) Django and Jimmie (2015, with Willie Nelson) Timeless (2015, with Mac Wiseman)