Merle Haggard spent a lifetime singing about working men, broken hearts, hard roads, and second chances. Near the end of that remarkable life, Merle Haggard gave his youngest son, Ben Haggard, some advice that would help shape his future.
Merle Haggard wanted Ben Haggard to keep using his guitar, his tour bus, and his songs for as long as people wanted to hear them.
But there was another message Merle Haggard had been teaching Ben Haggard since childhood:
“Create your own thunder.”
Those two pieces of advice might seem contradictory. One asked Ben Haggard to preserve a famous legacy. The other encouraged Ben Haggard to build something of his own.
The Guitar That Once Belonged to Roy Nichols
Ben Haggard’s musical education began long before Ben Haggard joined his father’s band.
In a 2017 interview, Ben Haggard recalled discovering a Fender Telecaster Deluxe in a closet at the family home when Ben Haggard was only six years old.
Merle Haggard had just returned from touring. Young Ben Haggard asked whether he could have the instrument, and Merle Haggard agreed.
What Ben Haggard didn’t understand at the time was that the guitar had belonged to Roy Nichols, the celebrated guitarist whose playing helped define Merle Haggard’s Bakersfield sound.
It was an extraordinary instrument for a six-year-old to receive, although Ben Haggard would only appreciate its history later.
By age 15, Ben Haggard was playing lead guitar with The Strangers, Merle Haggard’s longtime touring band.
Instead of learning country music solely from recordings, Ben Haggard learned it beside the musicians who had spent decades bringing those songs to life.
The Final Recording
On February 9, 2016, Merle Haggard recorded “Kern River Blues” at his home studio.
Ben Haggard played electric guitar on the recording, which became Merle Haggard’s final studio recording.
The song looked back at Bakersfield, California, the community that shaped Merle Haggard’s childhood and musical identity.
Merle Haggard had been born on April 6, 1937, in Oildale, California, where the Haggard family lived in a converted railroad boxcar.
Almost 79 years later, that remarkable journey was coming to an end.
According to a message Ben Haggard shared publicly, Merle Haggard told the family a week before his death that he expected to pass away on his birthday.
On April 6, 2016, Merle Haggard died at home, surrounded by family and friends, exactly 79 years after his birth.
“Kern River Blues” was released after Merle Haggard’s death, giving listeners one final recording featuring the familiar voice of the country legend.
Why “Footlights” Became Personal for Ben Haggard
After Merle Haggard’s death, Ben Haggard continued performing with his brother Noel Haggard and The Strangers.
But one song began to mean something different.
That song was “Footlights,” written by Merle Haggard and released in 1979.
Merle Haggard once described “Footlights” as one of his most personal songs, reflecting the reality of making a living onstage.
In an August 2017 interview with HollywoodLife, Ben Haggard explained that the song had taken on a new meaning after losing his father.
The story in “Footlights” concerns a performer who must walk onto a stage and entertain an audience even when carrying personal heartbreak.
For Ben Haggard, that feeling was no longer simply something described in a song. It had become part of life on the road.
Ben Haggard also recalled Merle Haggard encouraging him to keep practicing, continue performing, and eventually develop his own musical direction.
The advice helped explain why Ben Haggard kept singing the familiar songs while gradually developing an interest in writing original material.
More Than a Famous Last Name
Continuing Merle Haggard’s music meant performing songs such as “Sing Me Back Home,” “Workin’ Man Blues,” and “Heaven Was a Drink of Wine” for audiences who had treasured them for decades.
Yet Ben Haggard understood that a familiar surname could only take an artist so far.
In interviews after his father’s death, Ben Haggard discussed learning to write songs from personal experience rather than simply trying to reproduce Merle Haggard’s achievements.
That was the deeper meaning behind the advice to create his own thunder.
Merle Haggard had given Ben Haggard the opportunity to learn from extraordinary musicians, perform on famous stages, and carry beloved songs into another generation.
But Merle Haggard had also encouraged Ben Haggard to discover what kind of artist he wanted to become.
For longtime country fans, hearing Ben Haggard perform “Footlights” offers something more personal than another tribute performance. It connects a father’s experiences as a touring musician with the life his son would eventually lead.
Merle Haggard left behind recordings that generations can revisit. Ben Haggard inherited the opportunity to keep those songs alive while finding a musical voice of his own.
And perhaps that is what makes this father-and-son story so memorable: Merle Haggard wanted the music to continue, but Merle Haggard never wanted Ben Haggard to stop becoming himself.