Gallery - Outlaws! 9 of 15
Merle Haggard
Photo courtesy of Michael Ochs Archive
In "Mama Tried," Merle Haggard sings about turning 21 in prison and that's something he knows a thing or two about. By the time he was 20, he was serving time at San Quentin where he attended a few of Johnny Cash's shows, inspiring him to straighten up his act. Haggard made his name in country music singing about hard times and the working man and became a political symbol through songs like "Okie From Muskogee" and "Fightin' Side of Me."
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