Marty Haggard (born June 18, 1958) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer. He is the son of singer-songwriter

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

. Between 1981 and 1987, Haggard charted five singles on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts, in addition to performing in his father's road band.

Biography

Marty Haggard was born June 18, 1958, in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. He was named after

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

. At the time that Marty Haggard was born, his father,

, was serving time in

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

. Marty Haggard was raised by his grandmother in a railroad boxcar, but by the time the younger Haggard was 12, he had moved in with his father. He began an acting career in his teens. He had a recurring role in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

drama '' The Fitzpatricks'', and a bit part in a TV movie starring

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...

. While driving to the filming location of the TV movie, he stopped for a hitchhiker who then shot him and left him for dead. A wounded Haggard drove for 15 miles before spotting a 13-year-old girl who called an ambulance for him. He recovered fully, but later developed an infection in the bullet wounds which required further surgery.

Musical career

Haggard toured with his sister in the Driftwood Band for three years. Later, he worked on an oil field. He signed with Dimension Records in 1979 and released one single, "Charleston Cotton Mill", which spent three weeks on the

charts in 1981. At his father's request, Haggard joined his road band, in which he sang harmony and played rhythm guitar. He decided to begin a solo career again in 1985. He then signed with

MTM Records MTM Records was an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of the production company of the same name owned by actress Mary Tyler Moore. Alan Bernard was the label's CEO, Howard St ...

, for which he released four singles under the production of

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and actor. He began as a session musician with The Wrecking Crew, a famous session band of the 1960s and 1970s, and was i ...

. The most successful of these was "Trains Make Me Lonesome", which peaked at number 57 on the country charts, and which helped him receive a nomination for Top New Male Vocalist from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

. "Trains Make Me Lonesome" was covered by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

on his 1992 album '' Holding My Own''. By 1986, Haggard was married for six years to Shree and had two daughters. After the MTM singles, Haggard was seriously injured in a car accident, suffering head injury and memory loss which required four years of recovery. He signed to Critique Records in 1995 and released his album "Borders & Boundaries. The singles off of that album were "Amnesia" and "Here in the Afterlife." After stopping at Fellowship Bible Church in

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. The city also serves as a regional shopping, ...

, Haggard decided to take up music ministry, and went on to record his country-gospel albums titled "Ready or Not, Here He Comes" and "The Bridge. " Haggard has since married Tessa, and had one son named Jamey with her. He has also released two tribute albums to his father.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haggard, Marty 1958 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American shooting survivors Country musicians from California Living people MTM Records artists Musicians from Bakersfield, California Singer-songwriters from California