Happy birthday, Merle Haggard

It is the birthday of country music song writer Merle Haggard (1937), an icon in country music for decades — and still performing in his mid 70s. His daddy died when he was eight years old, and his mama raised him and supported the family working as a bookkeeper. Merle was rebellious and in and out of institutions and jail as a youth and young man. He was sent to San Quentin Prison at age 20, where he was inspired by a concert by Johnny Cash to turn his life around. He wrote and recorded Mama Tried, one of his signature songs, in 1968.