born April 6, 1937, Bakersfield, Calif., U.S.
U.S. country-music singer and songwriter.
Poverty marked Haggard's childhood, and in his teens he began a career of theft and burglary. After his release from San Quentin prison in 1960, he returned to Bakersfield and became a professional musician. He was soon producing hit recordings regularly, including "Mama Tried," "The Bottle Let Me Down," "The Fightin' Side of Me," "Okie from Muskogee" (controversial for its apparent attack on hippies), and later hit duets with George Jones and Willie Nelson .