Merle Haggard and the Strangers “Pride In What I Am” 1969. Today, April 6th, would have been Merle Haggard’s 85th birthday (b. 1937, d. on his 79th birthday, 2016). Pride In What I Am was Merle Haggard and the Strangers’ 8th LP; it went to #11 on the country chart and to #189 on the pop chart. Traditional country is not what I listen to, generally, but it’s hard not love Haggard: raw and honest with songs “packed full with hobos, lost loves and rainy nights remembered from his roving years” (from Pride In What I Am liner notes).

The title track, “I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am” (that features the above-mentioned hobos), went to #3 on the Hot Country Singles chart as well as hitting #75 on the Hot 100 and #15 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Other notable tracks are the Haggard-penned bluesy “I Can’t Hold Myself In Line” and the rollicking “I’m Bringing Home Good News.” Haggard and the Strangers perform a couple of non-Haggard originals including a couple by fellow Bakersfield country musician Red Simpson known for his truck-themed songs (Capitol Records originally wanted Haggard to record the trucking tracks but Haggard declined): “Somewhere on Skid Row” and “I Think We’re Livin’ in the Good Old Days.” He also covers Jimmie Rodgers’ “California Blues” aka “Blue Yodel No. 4.”