Haggard gets tribute treatment from ex-wife, Leona Williams
Thursday, June 19, 2008 – Merle Haggard is getting the tribute treatment from perhaps an unlikely source - his ex-wife. Leona Williams released "Leona Williams Sings Merle Haggard" on the recently formed Ah-Ha Music label. The disc is available on-line.
Williams helped write some of the songs, including "You Take Me For Granted." In the late 70's Williams first teamed up with Haggard to record "The Bull and the Beaver"; the song became a top 10 hit. The duo then followed it up with the album "Heart to Heart." The duo married a few years later and although they divorced in 1984, they remain friends.
A private album release/preview party will take place, appropriately, at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville on Thursday, June 19 and Williams will perform for the public the following night at the Nashville Palace. Country fans will be treated to additional performances by Ah-Ha Music label mates Crystal Sands and Carl Ray.
Williams has also written several songs for other well-known artists including Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Randy Travis and Connie Smith.
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CD reviews
Legendary Performances DVD
The Strangers are a talented and extremely flexible band, as Haggard's mood can vary from showing off his rich singing voice on ballads to playing the jazzy guitar hero via Western swing material. Thus, it takes a multi-faceted combo, like The Strangers, to keep up with Haggard's many moods.
This disc collects 15 Haggard TV clips, and the man is definitely not lip synching his way through these performances. For instance, viewers can clearly hear The Hag clear his throat right before »»» |
New Patches
Best known for her collaborations with then husband Merle Haggard in the late '70's and early '80s, this release from Leona Williams shows her in fine form. Williams wrote or co-wrote 5 of the 12 songs, including I'm Too Good To Be Better Than Nothing Again , in which the singer rejects life as the other woman, and He's On My Mind Again , a weeper in the tradition of George Jones' She Thinks I Still Care . Jones is an obvious influence as Williams salutes him with a »»» |
The Bluegrass Sessions
A current trend sees country stars dabbling in bluegrass, sometimes to mixed results. Not so with The Hag. The bluegrass is country influenced, but as one would anticipate from Merle Haggard, it is still genuine.
This is not flashy, show-off music. Instead it is a more relaxed pace blending the diverse styles of bluegrass, country and Jimmy Rodgers blues. In just a line there ain't no doubt - the gravelly voice seasoned by a lot of hard living hasn't lost one bit of emotion or the »»» |
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