Merle Haggard discography

The discography for American country music singer Merle Haggard includes 66 studio albums, five instrumental albums featuring his backing band the Strangers, as well as several live and compilation albums. Haggard recorded for a variety of major and independent record labels through the years, with significant years spent with Capitol Records (where he lived for over a decade), MCA Records, Epic Records and Curb Records, as well as his own label Hag Records.

Merle Haggard discography
Studio albums66
Live albums8
Compilation albums26
Singles84
Music videos13
No.1 Single38

Studio albums

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1960s

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Title Album details Peak chart
positions[1]
US Country US
Strangers
  • Release date: September 27, 1965
  • Label: Capitol
9
Just Between the Two of Us (with Bonnie Owens and the Strangers)
  • Release date: April 11, 1966
  • Label: Capitol
4
Swinging Doors and the Bottle Let Me Down (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: October 17, 1966
  • Label: Capitol
1
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: April 3, 1967
  • Label: Capitol
3 165
Branded Man/I Threw Away the Rose (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: August 28, 1967
  • Label: Capitol
1 167
Sing Me Back Home (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: January 8, 1968
  • Label: Capitol
1
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: April 8, 1968
  • Label: Capitol
6
Mama Tried (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: September 9, 1968
  • Label: Capitol
4
Pride in What I Am (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: February 10, 1969
  • Label: Capitol
11 189
Same Train, a Different Time: Merle Haggard Sings the Great Songs of Jimmie Rodgers (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: May 12, 1969
  • Label: Capitol
1 67
A Portrait of Merle Haggard (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: September 15, 1969
  • Label: Capitol
3 99
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

1970s

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Title Album details Peak chart positions[1]
US Country US CAN Country CAN
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player
in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)
(with the Strangers)
  • Release date: November 16, 1970
  • Label: Capitol
2 58
Hag (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: March 15, 1971
  • Label: Capitol
1 66 63
Someday We'll Look Back (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: August 16, 1971
  • Label: Capitol
4 108
Let Me Tell You About a Song (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: March 6, 1972
  • Label: Capitol
7 166
It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: November 20, 1972
  • Label: Capitol
1
Merle Haggard's Christmas Present (Something Old, Something New)
  • Release date: November 1973
  • Label: Capitol
4
If We Make it Through December (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: February 18, 1974
  • Label: Capitol
4 190
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: September 17, 1974
  • Label: Capitol
1
Keep Movin' On (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: April 21, 1975
  • Label: Capitol
1 129
It's All in the Movies (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: February 16, 1976
  • Label: Capitol
1
My Love Affair with Trains (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: July 5, 1976
  • Label: Capitol
7
The Roots of My Raising (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: November 22, 1976
  • Label: Capitol
8
Ramblin' Fever
  • Release date: May 9, 1977
  • Label: MCA
5 20
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: September 12, 1977
  • Label: Capitol
28
My Farewell to Elvis
  • Release date: October 24, 1977
  • Label: MCA
6 133
I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
  • Release date: June 26, 1978
  • Label: MCA
17 9
Serving 190 Proof
  • Release date: May 14, 1979
  • Label: MCA
17 1
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

1980s

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
[1]
Certifications[2]
(sales threshold)
US Country US CAN Country
The Way I Am
  • Release date: April 1980
  • Label: MCA
16
Back to the Barrooms
  • Release date: October 10, 1980
  • Label: MCA
8
Songs for the Mama That Tried
  • Release date: September 28, 1981
  • Label: MCA
46
Big City
  • Release date: October 5, 1981
  • Label: Epic
3 161
A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones)
  • Release date: August 16, 1982
  • Label: Epic
4 123
Going Where the Lonely Go
  • Release date: October 18, 1982
  • Label: Epic
3
Goin' Home for Christmas
  • Release date: October 25, 1982
  • Label: Epic
41
Pancho & Lefty (with Willie Nelson)
  • Release date: January 10, 1983
  • Label: Epic
1 37
  • CAN: Gold
  • US: Platinum
Heart to Heart (with Leona Williams)
  • Release date: June 16, 1983
  • Label: Mercury
44
That's the Way Love Goes
  • Release date: August 15, 1983
  • Label: Epic
8
It's All in the Game
  • Release date: May 14, 1984
  • Label: Epic
1 6
Kern River
  • Release date: March 25, 1985
  • Label: Epic
8
A Friend in California
  • Release date: March 10, 1986
  • Label: Epic
2
Out Among the Stars
  • Release date: October 13, 1986
  • Label: Epic
15
Seashores of Old Mexico (with Willie Nelson)
  • Release date: September 21, 1987
  • Label: Epic
31
Chill Factor
  • Release date: November 23, 1987
  • Label: Epic
8 14
5:01 Blues
  • Release date: June 27, 1989
  • Label: Epic
28
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

1990s

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Title Album details Peak positions
[1]
US Country
Blue Jungle
  • Release date: July 31, 1990
  • Label: Curb
47
1994
  • Release date: March 22, 1994
  • Label: Curb
60
1996
  • Release date: January 23, 1996
  • Label: Curb
Cabin in the Hills
  • Release date: September 9, 1999
  • Label: Relentless Nashville/Hag Records
Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)
  • Release date: 1999
  • Label: Hag Records

2000s

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Title Album details Peak chart
positions[1]
US Country US US Indie
If I Could Only Fly
  • Release date: October 10, 2000
  • Label: ANTI-
26 10
Roots, Volume 1
  • Release date: November 6, 2001
  • Label: ANTI-
47 26
California Blend (with Chester Smith)
  • Release date: May 7, 2002
  • Label: Hag Records
The Peer Sessions
  • Release date: May 21, 2002
  • Label: Audium
Haggard Like Never Before
  • Release date: September 23, 2003
  • Label: Hag
40 20
I Wish I Was Santa Claus
  • Release date: October 26, 2004
  • Label: Smith Music
Unforgettable 39
Chicago Wind
  • Release date: October 25, 2005
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
54
Last of the Breed (with Willie Nelson and Ray Price) 7 64
Working Man's Journey
The Bluegrass Sessions
  • Release date: October 2, 2007
  • Label: McCoury
43 34
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

2010s

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
[1]
US Country US US Indie CA
I Am What I Am 18 77 11
Working in Tennessee
  • Release date: October 4, 2011
  • Label: Vanguard Records
30 155 25
Django & Jimmie (with Willie Nelson) 1 7 16
Timeless (with Mac Wiseman)
  • Release date: June 30, 2015
  • Label: Hag Records/Cracker Barrel

Instrumental albums

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Title Album details Peak
chart
position[1]
US Country
The Instrumental Sounds of Merle Haggard's Strangers (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: February 23, 1969
  • Label: Capitol
36
Introducing My Friends, the Strangers (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: April 6, 1970
  • Label: Capitol
34
Getting to Know Merle Haggard's Strangers (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: October 5, 1970
  • Label: Capitol
44
Honky Tonkin' (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: June 21, 1971
  • Label: Capitol
34
Totally Instrumental with One Exception... (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: May 1973
  • Label: Capitol
23
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Live albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
[1]
Certifications[2]
US Country US CAN
[3]
Okie from Muskogee (with the Strangers)
  • Release date: February 1969
  • Label: Capitol
1 46 64
  • US: Platinum
The Fightin' Side of Me (with the Strangers and Bonnie Owens)
  • Release date: July 6, 1970
  • Label: Capitol
1 68
  • US: Gold
The Land of Many Churches (with the Strangers, Bonnie Owens and the Carter Family)
  • Release date: November 8, 1971
  • Label: Capitol
15
I Love Dixie Blues (with the Strangers and the Dixieland Express)
  • Release date: July 1973
  • Label: Capitol
1 126
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
  • Release date: July 1981
  • Label: MCA
20
The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
  • Release date: 1983
  • Label: Epic
28
Amber Waves of Grain
  • Release date: 1985
  • Label: Epic
25
Live from Austin, Texas
  • Release date: 2006
  • Label: New West
Live from Austin, Texas '78
  • Release date: 2008
  • Label: New West
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

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Title Album details Peak chart
positions[1]
Certifications[2]/
Sales
US Country US
The Best of Merle Haggard
  • Release date: July 15, 1968
  • Label: Capitol Records
3
  • US: Platinum
Close-Up
  • Release date: 1969
  • Label: Capitol Records
23
The Best of the Best
  • Release date: September 1972
  • Label: Capitol Records
1 137
  • US: Platinum
Songs I'll Always Sing
  • Release date: April 11, 1977
  • Label: Capitol Records
15
Eleven Winners
  • Release date: January 1978
  • Label: Capitol Records
9
The Way It Was in '51
  • Release date: September 11, 1978
  • Label: Capitol Records
30
Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
  • Release date: 1982
  • Label: MCA Records
37
His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
  • Release date: 1984
  • Label: Epic Records
41
  • US: Platinum
His Best
  • Release date: 1985
  • Label: MCA Records
38
Walking the Line (with George Jones and Willie Nelson)
  • Release date: 1987
  • Label: Epic
39
Greatest Hits of the 80's
  • Release date: October 5, 1990
  • Label: Epic Records
Super Hits
  • Release date: March 9, 1993
  • Label: Epic Records
Super Hits, Vol. 2
  • Release date: November 1, 1994
  • Label: Epic Records
  • US: Gold
Super Hits, Vol. 3
  • Release date: September 5, 1995
  • Label: Epic Records
Down Every Road 1962–1994
  • Release date: April 2, 1996
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
16 Biggest Hits
  • Release date: July 14, 1998
  • Label: Epic Records
55 167
  • US: Gold
For the Record, 43 Legendary Hits 38
  • US: Gold
Cheatin'
  • Release date: September 25, 2001
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
Drinkin'
  • Release date: September 25, 2001
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
Hurtin'
  • Release date: September 25, 2001
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
Prison
  • Release date: September 25, 2001
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
20 Greatest Hits
  • Release date: February 26, 2002
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
75
40 #1's
  • Release date: March 23, 2004
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
60
40 Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (Rerecorded) 88
The Essential Merle Haggard: The Epic Years
  • Release date: August 31, 2004
  • Label: Epic Records
139
Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard
  • Release date: September 12, 2006
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
59
10 Great Songs
  • Release date: July 3, 2012
  • Label: Capitol Nashville
75
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other appearances

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Year Song Album
2015 “The Cost of Living” (with Don Henley) Cass County (album)
2017 “The Only Man Wilder Than Me” (with Willie Nelson) Music from The American Epic Sessions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
“Old Fashioned Love” (with Willie Nelson)

Production

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Year Album Artist
2020 Introducing Amy Jack[5] Amy Jack

Singles

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1960s

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Year Single Peak chart
positions[6]
Album
US Country CAN Country
1962 "Singin' My Heart Out" Non-album single
1963 "Sing a Sad Song" 19 Strangers
1964 "Sam Hill" 45
"(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" 10
1965 "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can" 42
1966 "Swinging Doors" (with the Strangers) 5 Swinging Doors
"The Bottle Let Me Down" (with the Strangers) 3
"I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" (with the Strangers) 1 I'm a Lonesome Fugitive
1967 "I Threw Away the Rose" (with the Strangers) 2 Branded Man
"Branded Man" (with the Strangers) 1
"Sing Me Back Home" (with the Strangers) 1 7 Sing Me Back Home
1968 "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde" (with the Strangers) 1 3 The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde
"Mama Tried" (with the Strangers) 1 1 Mama Tried
"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" (with the Strangers) 3 1 Pride in What I Am
1969 "Hungry Eyes" (with the Strangers) 1 2 A Portrait of Merle Haggard
"Workin' Man Blues" (with the Strangers) 1 1
"Okie from Muskogee"[A] (with the Strangers) 1 3 Okie from Muskogee
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

1970s

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Year Single Peak chart positions[6] Album
US Country US CAN Country CAN
1970 "The Fightin' Side of Me" (with The Strangers) 1 92 1 The Fightin' Side of Me
"Jesus, Take a Hold" (with the Strangers) 3 107 3 Hag
"I Can't Be Myself" (with the Strangers) 3 106 2
1971 "Soldier's Last Letter" (with the Strangers) 3 90
"Someday We'll Look Back" (with the Strangers) 2 119 2 Someday We'll Look Back
"Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" (with the Strangers) 1 2 Let Me Tell You About a Song
"Carolyn" (with the Strangers) 1 58 2 Someday We'll Look Back
1972 "Grandma Harp" (with the Strangers) 1 5 Let Me Tell You About a Song
"It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" (with the Strangers) 1 1 It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)
"I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" (with the Strangers) 1 1 I Love Dixie Blues
1973 "The Emptiest Arms in the World" (with the Strangers) 3 12
"Everybody's Had the Blues" (with the Strangers) 1 62 1
"If We Make It Through December"[B] (with the Strangers) 1 28 1 30 If We Make It Through December
1974 "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" (with the Strangers) 1 2 Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album
"Old Man from the Mountain" (with the Strangers) 1 1
"Kentucky Gambler" (with the Strangers) 1 1 Keep Movin' On
"Santa Claus and Popcorn" Merle Haggard's Christmas Present
(Something Old, Something New)
1975 "Always Wanting You" (with the Strangers) 1 3 Keep Movin' On
"Movin' On" (with the Strangers) 1 15
"It's All in the Movies" (with the Strangers) 1 11 It's All in the Movies
1976 "The Roots of My Raising" (with the Strangers) 1 7 The Roots of My Raising
"Here Comes the Freedom Train" (with the Strangers) 10 1 My Love Affair with Trains
"Cherokee Maiden" (with the Strangers) 1 1 The Roots of My Raising
1977 "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday" 2 2 Ramblin' Fever
"Ramblin' Fever" 2 3
"A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today" (with the Strangers) 16 8 A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today
"From Graceland to the Promised Land" 4 58 3 55 My Farewell to Elvis
"Running Kind" (with the Strangers) 12 10 A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today
1978 "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall" 2 2 I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
"It's Been a Great Afternoon" 2 1
"The Way It Was in '51" (with the Strangers) 82 58 The Way It Was in '51
"The Bull and The Beaver" (with Leona Williams) 8 25 Non-album single
1979 "Red Bandana" 4 2 Serving 190 Proof
"My Own Kind of Hat" 4 4
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

1980s—2010s

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Year Single Peak chart
positions[6]
Album
US Country CAN Country
1980 "The Way I Am" 2 1 The Way I Am
"Bar Room Buddies" (with Clint Eastwood) 1 1 Bronco Billy (soundtrack)
"Misery and Gin" 3 4 Back to the Barrooms
"I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" 1 29
1981 "Leonard" 9 7
"Rainbow Stew" (live) 4 17 Rainbow Stew
"My Favorite Memory" 1 3 Big City
1982 "Big City" 1 1
"Dealing with the Devil" (live) 49 Rainbow Stew
"Are the Good Times Really Over
(I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)
"
2 1 Big City
"Going Where the Lonely Go" 1 1 Going Where the Lonely Go
1983 "You Take Me for Granted" 1 9
"What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)" 3 2 That's the Way Love Goes
"It's All in the Game" 54 It's All in the Game
"That's the Way Love Goes" 1 1 That's the Way Love Goes
1984 "Someday When Things Are Good" 1 1
"Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room" 1 9 It's All in the Game
"A Place to Fall Apart" (featuring Janie Fricke) 1 1
1985 "Natural High" 1 2
"Make-Up and Faded Blue Jeans" 55 49 His Best
"Kern River" 10 10 Kern River
"Amber Waves of Grain" 36 38 Amber Waves of Grain
"American Waltz" 60 41
1986 "I Had a Beautiful Time" 5 4 A Friend in California
"A Friend in California" 9 12
"Out Among the Stars" 21 22 Out Among the Stars
1987 "Almost Persuaded" 58 54
"Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" 1 1 Chill Factor
1988 "Chill Factor" 9 12
"We Never Touch at All" 22 26
"You Babe" 23 21
1989 "5:01 Blues" 18 14 5:01 Blues
"A Better Love Next Time" 4 10
"If You Want to Be My Woman" 23 15
1990 "Broken Friend" [C] 78
"When It Rains It Pours" 60 Blue Jungle
"Blue Jungle"[7]
1991 "A Bar in Bakersfield"[8]
1994 "In My Next Life" 58 1994
1996 "Truck Driver's Blues"[9] 1996
1999 "That's the Way Love Goes" (re-recording with Jewel) 56 71 For the Record, 43 Legendary Hits
2000 "Motorcycle Cowboy"[10] (live) Live at Billy Bob's Texas: Motorcycle Cowboy
2001 "If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" Roots, Volume 1
2011 "Working in Tennessee" Working in Tennessee
2016 "Kern River Blues" Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other singles

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Singles from collaboration albums

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Year Single Artist Peak chart positions Album
US Country US AC CAN Country
1964 "Just Between the Two of Us" (with The Strangers) Bonnie Owens 28 Just Between the Two of Us with The Strangers
1982 "Yesterday's Wine" George Jones 1 5 A Taste of Yesterday's Wine
"C.C. Waterback" 10 18
"Reasons to Quit" Willie Nelson 6 7 Pancho & Lefty
1983 "Pancho and Lefty" 1 21 1
"We're Strangers Again" Leona Williams 42 Heart to Heart
1987 "If I Could Only Fly" Willie Nelson 58 50 Seashores of Old Mexico
2000 "Wreck on the Highway" Chester Smith California Blend
2015 "It's All Going to Pot" Willie Nelson 48 Django & Jimmie
— denotes releases that did not chart.

Guest singles

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Year Single Artist Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country CAN Country
1978 "Willie" Hank Cochran 91 With a Little Help from My Friends
1979 "Walking the Floor Over You" Ernest Tubb 31 18 The Legend and the Legacy
1981 "I Can't Hold Myself in Line" Johnny Paycheck 41 41 Mr. Hag Told My Story
"Lefty" David Frizzell 45 Carryin' on the Family Names
1998 "Same Old Train" Various artists 59 Tribute to Tradition
2005 "Politically Uncorrect" Gretchen Wilson 23 All Jacked Up
2013 "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" Hank Williams, Jr. Old School New Rules
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Charted B-sides

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Year Single Peak chart positions A-Side
US Country US CAN Country
1966 "Someone Told My Story" (with The Strangers) 32 "The Fugitive" (with The Strangers)
1970 "Sidewalks of Chicago" (with The Strangers) flip flip "I Can't Be Myself" (with The Strangers)
1972 "Turnin' Off a Memory" (with The Strangers) flip "Grandma Harp" (with The Strangers)
1976 "What Have You Got Planned Tonight Diana" (with The Strangers) flip "Cherokee Maiden" (with The Strangers)
1977 "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" flip "Ramblin' Fever"
1978 "Making Believe" (with The Strangers) flip "Running Kind" (with The Strangers)
"Love Me When You Can" flip "It's Been a Great Afternoon"
1979 "I Must Have Done Something Bad" flip "Red Bandana"
"Heaven Was a Drink of Wine" flip "My Own Kind of Hat"
1981 "Our Paths May Never Cross" 55 "Leonard"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

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Year Video Director
1982 "Are the Good Times Really Over" (live)
1983 "Pancho and Lefty" (with Willie Nelson) Lana Nelson
1985 "Natural High"
"Kern River"
1990 "Me and Crippled Soldiers" Tom Hartman
2000 "Motorcycle Cowboy" David Abbott
"(Think About A) Lullaby" Piper Ferguson
2001 "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" Bobby G.
2003 "Farmer's Blues" (with Marty Stuart) Deb Haus
2004 "That's the News"
2005 "America First" Traci Goudie
2006 "Politically Uncorrect" (with Gretchen Wilson) Deaton Flanigen
2015 It's All Going to Pot" (with Willie Nelson)
"Alice in Hulaland" (with Willie Nelson)[11] Micah Nelson

Notes

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  • A^ "Okie from Muskogee" also peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • B^ "If We Make It Through December" also peaked at number 37 on the Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
  • C^ "Broken Friend" did not chart on Hot Country Songs, but peaked at No. 4 on Hot Country Radio Breakouts.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i allmusic ((( Merle Haggard > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))
  2. ^ a b c RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Merle Haggard
  3. ^ "Merle Haggard Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 9, 2019). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales: October 9, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  5. ^ Block, Donna (2020-03-25). "Amy Jack Releases Debut Album — Produced By Late Merle Haggard". Medium. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  6. ^ a b c allmusic ((( Merle Haggard > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
  7. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. December 1, 1990.
  8. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. February 2, 1991.
  9. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. May 18, 1996.
  10. ^ Jessen, Wade (April 22, 2000). "Country Corner". Billboard. p. 41.
  11. ^ "CMT : Videos : Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard : Alice in Hulaland". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  12. ^ "Hot Country Radio Breakouts" (PDF). Billboard. April 21, 1990.