Haggard statue to be unveiled on recording anniversary

Jul. 5—Merle Haggard recorded his live version of "Okie from Muskogee" at the Muskogee Civic Center on Oct. 10, 1969.

Fifty-five years later to the day, a statue of the country music icon will be unveiled in the Civic Center courtyard.

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame announced Wednesday a fund-raising concert will be held after the unveiling. Ben and Noel Haggard, Merle's sons, will perform a tribute their father along with the Swon Brothers.

"Right now, those have committed," said OMHOF Executive Director Tony Corbell. "We expect a lot more to accept our invitation to perform."

Vince Gill, an inductee in the Hall of Fame, was invited but unfortunately had to decline.

"He's under contract to The Eagles and they are doing resident performances at the Las Vegas Sphere," Corbell said. "He said he's obligated to the Eagles or else he would be here."

Corbell said he and Benjamin Victor, renowned bronze artist who is creating the statue, had several discussions on when to unveil the statue.

"The date was decided about two months ago," Corbell said. "We knew it was going to be in the fall and (Victor) said he could probably have it ready in late August or early September. I said 'How would you feel about having a little extra time and let's go for Oct. 10?'

"And he said that would help him a lot and why would we want to do that? I said 'Well, because Oct. 10 is the date that Merle recorded the live album there.' We figured out the date and it's exactly 55 years."

Victor, who grew up in Bakersfield, California, not far from where Haggard did. He said in the release it has been an honor to do the statue.

"I am profoundly moved and humbled to have received the commission to create the sculpture of Merle Haggard — The 'Okie from Muskogee.' I was raised in a lower middle-class family in Bakersfield, just a stone's throw away from where Merle was born and raised. In fact, I was born in the same hospital. From the Buck Owen's Crystal Palace, which my oldest brother helped build, to the songs that my dad played on guitar for us as kids, we all had a great appreciation and certainly a reverence for Merle Haggard."

Even though Gill has said he won't be able to appear, he was quoted in the release offering enthusiasm for the event.

"Join the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 for the unveiling of the statue, by world renowned sculptor Benjamin Victor and followed by a benefit concert for the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame that will honor Merle in the grand way he deserves. Merle inspired and encouraged many of us on the musical path we have been on and now we have an opportunity to celebrate him in the town he put on the map, Muskogee, Oklahoma USA."

Corbell said more information will be released about the event when it becomes available, including when tickets will go on sale.

"This (release) is a kind of a 'save the date' kind of thing," Corbell said. "There'll be another press release coming along soon with a lot more detail. and by then we'll have some more players involved."