"The Fugitive" | ||||
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Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers | ||||
from the album I'm a Lonesome Fugitive | ||||
Released | December 12, 1966 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 2:56 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Liz Anderson Casey Anderson | |||
Producer(s) | Ken Nelson | |||
Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology | ||||
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"The Fugitive' (later titled "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" on the album) is a song recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers, written by Liz Anderson and Casey Anderson (parents of country music singer Lynn Anderson). It was released in December 1966 as the first single and title track from the album I'm a Lonesome Fugitive . The song was Haggard and The Strangers first number one hit on the U.S. country singles chart, spending one week at number one and fifteen weeks on the chart. [1] The B-side, "Someone Told My Story", peaked at number 32 on the country chart.
Although not written by Haggard, the song became one of the most closely associated with the early part of his career, as it drew upon his then still-relatively recent prison term for burglary. Here, Haggard fills the shoes of an escaped convict, trying to live life on the run from the authorities. As a fugitive, he knows that trying to settle down or start a relationship are too risky—either his new friends (or a new girlfriend) would tip off the authorities or would slow him down as the authorities catch up—and is resigned to living a lonely life on the road as a "rolling stone" ("Down every road, there's always one more city/I'm on the run, the highway is my home").
Chart (1966–1967) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [2] | 1 |
Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Elizabeth Jane Anderson was an American country music singer-songwriter who was one in a wave of new-generation female vocalists in the genre during the 1960s to write and record her own songs on a regular basis. Writing in The New York Times Bill Friskics-Warren noted, "Like her contemporary Loretta Lynn, Ms. Anderson gave voice to female survivors; inhabiting their struggles in a soprano at times alluring, at times sassy."
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).
Branded Man is the fourth studio album by American country 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.
"Mama Tried" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in July 1968 as the first single and title track from the album Mama Tried. The song became one of the cornerstone songs of his career. It won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999, and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance" on March 23, 2016, just 14 days before Haggard's death.
"Sing a Sad Song" is a song written by Wynn Stewart. It was recorded notably by Merle Haggard in 1963, whose version became his first major hit. It was later recorded by Stewart himself. In 1976, Stewart's own version became a major hit as well.
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is the third studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1967.
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.
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.
Ramblin' Fever is the 22nd studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in 1977. It was his first on the MCA label after recording for Capitol Records since 1965. It was also his first album without crediting The Strangers. It reached Number 5 on the Country album chart. Ramblin' Fever was reissued on CD in 2002.
16 Biggest Hits is a 1998 Merle Haggard compilation album. It is part of a series of similar 16 Biggest Hits albums released by Legacy Recordings.
"(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" is a song written by Liz Anderson. Best remembered as American country music artist Merle Haggard's first national Top 10 record, it was also a Top 10 song concurrently for Roy Drusky. The song is also known as All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers, (From Now On) All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers, and simply Strangers. Haggard went on to name his band The Strangers after the record's success. The song was subsequently recorded by scores of additional country stars as an album track including George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Porter Wagoner, Ferlin Husky, as well as Liz Anderson herself and Anderson's daughter Lynn Anderson.
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.
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 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.