| Roots, Volume 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 6, 2001 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | ANTI-/Epitaph | |||
| Producer | Merle Haggard | |||
| Merle Haggard chronology | ||||
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Roots, Volume 1 is the fifty-third studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in 2001. It reached Number 47 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
After the success of Haggard's If I Could Only Fly , his first album for the independent label ANTI-, he followed with another successful recording with Norman Stephens, the guitarist for Lefty Frizzell, one of Haggard's major influences. Five of the album's tracks were written by Frizzell, but also pays tribute to Hank Williams and Hank Thompson. Haggard also contributes the original composition "More Than My Old Guitar."
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | ** [2] |
In his Allmusic review, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Roots, Volume 1 an "unexpected return to how country records used to be made" and "an album filled with small gems, but they add up to a large triumph–a rich, masterful album that's not just the best country album of 2001, but one of Haggard's finest moments." [1]
Production notes:
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 47 |
| U.S. Billboard Independent Albums | 26 |
William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer.
Same Train, A Different Time is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1969, featuring covers of songs by legendary country music songwriter Jimmie Rodgers. It was originally released as a 2 LP set on Capitol (SWBB-223).
Country USA was a 23-volume series issued by Time-Life Music during the late 1980s and early 1990s, spotlighting country music of the 1950s through early 1970s.
Okie from Muskogee is the first live album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records.
Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again is a studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 2006.
A Taste of Yesterday's Wine is an album by the American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 1982. They are backed by Don Markham and Jimmy Belken of The Strangers. The album includes the song "Silver Eagle", written by Gary Church, also of The Strangers. This was their first album together; their next album together, Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again, did not come until 24 years later in 2006.
Last of the Breed is a two-disc album by American country music artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price, released in 2007. It debuted at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week. The album has 100,000 copies in the U.S. as of May 2015. The album was ranked number 33 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde is the sixth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1968. It rose to number 6 on the Billboard country albums chart.
Hag is the twelfth studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1971. It became his fifth album to top the Billboard country album charts. It also reached number 66 on the pop albums chart.
The Way I Am is the 30th studio album by American country musician Merle Haggard, released in 1980.
To Lefty From Willie is the twenty-first studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. Recorded in 1975, the album sat in the vaults of Columbia Records until 1977. This album is Willie Nelson's tribute to fellow country singer Lefty Frizzell.
If We Make It Through December is the sixteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1974. It reached number 4 on the Billboard country album charts. The title track was previously released on Haggard's Christmas release of 1973, A Christmas Present. The single spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in December 1973 and January 1974, and cracked the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100. "If We Make It Through December" was the No. 2 song of the year on Billboard's Hot Country Singles 1974 year-end chart.
Keep Movin' On is the eighteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers released in 1975. It reached number one on the Billboard country albums chart. "Movin' On" was a full-length version of a song Haggard recorded as the theme song to the TV series Movin' On.
The Roots of My Raising is the 21st studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1976. It was his third release in 1976 and his last on the Capitol label until his return in 2004. It reached number 8 on the Billboard country albums chart.
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today is the 26th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1977. Even though Haggard had moved to the MCA label, Capitol created this release from tracks previously recorded in 1975 and 1976.
That's the Way Love Goes is the 38th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1983.
I Am What I Am is the sixty-second studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released on April 20, 2010 by Vanguard Records. The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Working in Tennessee is the sixty-third and final solo studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released on October 4, 2011 by Vanguard Records. This is also the second Merle Haggard album released by Vanguard.
Chill Factor is the forty-fourth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, with backing by The Strangers, released on the Epic label in 1987.
Influence Vol. 2: The Man I Am is the twenty-first studio album and the second covers album by American country music singer Randy Travis. It is the follow-up to his 2013 album Influence Vol. 1: The Man I Am, and like its predecessor, it features cover songs.
