The U. S. House of Representatives Honors Merle Haggard

The Los Angeles Times reports that the United States House of Representatives voted last Tuesday, July 11th to recognize country legend Merle Haggard and re-name the U.S. post office in Bakersfield, Calif. in his honor...

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy represents California’s 23rd district and brought the bill to the floor, giving a speech arguing for the honor.

He started with this statement...'Mr. Speaker, you can take a look back on American history. You can see figures standing tall who spoke for the everyday working man. Following a long tradition of Whitman and Twain, Merle Haggard was a man who knew America instinctively, because he lived an American life. It wasn’t a life for the movies, but it was all more compelling because it was all more real. That is the reason they called him the poet of the common man'. McCarthy had more to say.

Haggard was born near Bakersfield, and became one of the leading progenitors of the Bakersfield Sound, a movement that swept country music in the 1960s that featured more of an emphasis on electric guitars and simpler, more aggressive arrangements.

Haggard's popularity with live shows was shared by all ages right up to when he left us! We continue to enjoy Merle's music through the many recordings he left for us to enjoy!

Take a moment to check out the above video of what McCarthy had to say on behalf of Merle Haggard!