Merle Haggard was an escape artist. The future country music legend broke out of juvenile hall and prison 17 times by his own count as a teenager and young man. But his greatest escape was getting out ...

Take a pinch of every song Merle Haggard has written, put it in a huge black pot, and simmer over an open fire until well blended. The result: the embryonic stage of the persona of Merle Haggard. The ...