Merle Haggard Stands Tall

AS LONG AS people speak of country music, the music of Merle Haggard will live. As his career nears the half-century mark, Haggard's imprint is as deeply etched on the music as those of the spiritual forebears he so admires - Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell - and he has lived out his Bakersfield childhood dreams beyond imagination. But right now, the country music immortal is feeling very mortal.