| Sing Me Back Home | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 2, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | April, July, September, November 1967 | |||
| Studio | Capitol (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 30:13 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Ken Nelson | |||
| Merle Haggard and The Strangers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sing Me Back Home | ||||
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Sing Me Back Home is the fifth studio album by American country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1968 on Capitol Records.
The album's title track was inspired by an inmate Haggard knew while he was serving time in San Quentin named Jimmy "Rabbit" Kendrick. [1] As recounted in his 1981 autobiography Merle Haggard: Sing Me Back Home, Rabbit devised a brilliant escape and invited Haggard to join him, but they both agreed it would be best that he stay put. Rabbit was captured two weeks later and eventually executed for the murder of a state trooper. Haggard, the "guitar playing friend", wrote the song as a tribute. [2] Writing in the liner notes for the 1994 retrospective Down Every Road, Daniel Cooper calls it, "a ballad that works on so many different levels of the soul it defies one's every attempt to analyze it." [3] In a 1977 interview in Billboard with Bob Eubanks, Haggard reflected, "Even though the crime was brutal and the guy was an incorrigible criminal, it's a feeling you never forget when you see someone you know make that last walk. They bring him through the yard, and there's a guard in front and a guard behind - that's how you know a death prisoner. They brought Rabbit out...taking him to see the Father,...prior to his execution. That was a strong picture that was left in my mind." The track topped the country singles chart a few weeks into 1968 (his second number one in a row) and he performed it as a duet with Johnny Cash on the latter's network television show in 1969.[ citation needed ] In his 1999 autobiography House of Memories, Haggard states that the song had been published by Blue Book Music, a company owned by Buck Owens, and when Haggard asked Owens for a sum of money to pay back debts incurred in Las Vegas, Owens agreed only if he received half of “Sing Me Back Home,” to which Haggard agreed. [4] Haggard, who later felt he had been taken, sued to get his ownership of the song back. [4]
Although Haggard wrote or co-wrote most of the tracks on Sing Me Back Home, the song credits also list several important figures from his musical past, such as Lefty Frizzell, who wrote "Mom and Dad's Waltz" and was arguably Merle's biggest musical inspiration. In addition, a young Haggard had played behind both Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart during his time on the Bakersfield club scene, and the album features compositions by both. In fact, Haggard wrote "Home Is Where a Kid Grows Up" with Stewart and another one of his idols, Bob Wills (Haggard would cut a tribute album in honor of Wills in 1970).
While many country LPs during this period were often haphazardly assembled collections of studio cuts and cover songs to support a hit single or two, the quality of Haggard's albums during this period were remarkably high.[ citation needed ] In his 2013 biography Merle Haggard: The Running Kind, David Cantwell gives part of the credit to producer Ken Nelson: "Nelson wasn't a musician himself, and he wasn't a knob-twirling auteur, either...Nelson had an ear for talent and material and for sounds...He was an old school A&R man, and he had the role's key skill: he could hear pop." [5] Another key ingredient in Haggard's sound during this period was the guitar blend of James Burton and Roy Nichols. As Haggard explained to Downbeat in 1980, "James was doing this thing called 'chicken pickin'. But he wasn't really bending the strings. Roy, on the other hand, was doing the string bending but wasn't doing the chicken' pickin'... Our guitar style came out of a marriage between the styles."[ citation needed ]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.8/10 [7] |
Sing Me Back Home was released on January 2, 1968, and became Haggard's second straight number-one album. At the time of the album's release, Life stated that the title track "could be a Top 40 hit tomorrow if the big-city stations would play it." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes: "Sing Me Back Home follows the blueprint of Merle Haggard's first three albums, balancing a hit single with album tracks and a couple of covers, but there is a difference. Where the previous album Branded Man was a transitional album, hinting that Haggard's talents were deepening substantially, Sing Me Back Home is the result of the flowering of his talent." [6]
All tracks composed by Merle Haggard; except where indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sing Me Back Home" | 2:51 | |
| 2. | "Look Over Me" | 2:58 | |
| 3. | "The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp" | Dallas Frazier | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Wine Take Me Away" | Tommy Collins, Haggard | 2:48 |
| 5. | "If You See My Baby" | Eddie Miller, Bob Morris | 2:32 |
| 6. | "Where Does the Good Times Go" | Buck Owens | 2:06 |
| 7. | "I'll Leave the Bottle on the Bar" | 2:41 | |
| 8. | "My Past Is Present" | Haggard, Wynn Stewart | 1:58 |
| 9. | "Home Is Where a Kid Grows Up" | Haggard, Stewart, Bob Wills | 1:57 |
| 10. | "Mom and Dad's Waltz" | Lefty Frizzell | 2:27 |
| 11. | "Good Times" | 2:59 | |
| 12. | "Seeing Eye Dog" | 2:41 |
with
and
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Country LPs | 1 |
Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
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).
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World is the eleventh studio album by Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1970.
Branded Man is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released on Capitol Records in 1967.
Okie from Muskogee is the first live album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records.
Going Where the Lonely Go is the thirty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1982.
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1968. It rose to number 6 on the Billboard country albums chart.
Mama Tried is the seventh studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released on Capitol Records in 1968. It reached number 4 on Billboard's country albums chart. The title song was one of Haggard's biggest hit singles and won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Hag is the twelfth studio album by American country music artist 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 Fightin' Side of Me is the second live album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1970. Like the song "Okie from Muskogee" led to a quickly released album, The Fightin' Side of Me was also quickly released because of the run of success of Haggard's patriotic hit single "The Fightin' Side of Me".
Let Me Tell You About a Song is the fourteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Country album chart and #166 on the Pop album chart. The lead-off singles were "Grandma Harp" and "Daddy Frank " — both reached No. 1.
I Love Dixie Blues is a live album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1973.
If We Make It Through December is the sixteenth studio album by American country music 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.
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album is the seventeenth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1974. Contrary to the album's title, this was his 17th studio album; however, the number 30 included his six collaborative albums, three live albums, one 'live' gospel album, one Christmas album, and two greatest hits compilations up to that point.
My Farewell to Elvis is the twenty-seventh studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, released in 1977 and his second release for MCA Records. It reached Number 6 on the Country album chart. The single "From Graceland to the Promised Land" reached number 4 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The album is a tribute to the music of Elvis Presley, who died on August 16, 1977. He is backed by Roy Nichols, Ronnie Reno, and Mark Yeary of The Strangers.
That's the Way Love Goes is the thirty-eighth studio album by the American country music singer Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1983.
Songs I'll Always Sing is a two-record compilation album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1977. It reached #15 in the US Country Charts. The album collects many of Haggard's best known recordings during his successful run at the label, including nine of his twenty-four #1 hits dating back to 1966.
Strangers is the debut studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released on September 27, 1965, by Capitol Records.
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium is a live album by American country music artist Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers. It was recorded in October 1980 and released in July 1981 on MCA Records.
Heart to Heart is a duet album by Merle Haggard and Leona Williams with backing by the Strangers, released in June 1983 on Mercury Records. It reached number 44 on the Billboard Country music chart.
