New book about Merle Haggard like sharing stories 'round a campfire -- or backstage

Apr. 16—The book was four years in the making but a lifetime in the living.

It tells the story of its author, Raymond H. McDonald, and his lifelong friend Merle Haggard, maybe the greatest county music singer-songwriter ever to strap on a Fender Telecaster.

It's about a troubled 15-year-old kid who moved into Haggard's Oildale home in 1965, where he shared a bedroom with two of Buck Owens' sons. And it's about that same teenager five decades later driving the Hag's tour bus, nicknamed Santa Fe Chief, all across America.

And it's about everything in between.

Released in paperback and on e-book through BookBaby.com, "Merle Haggard was a Friend of Mine" contains 52 original stories and hundreds of anecdotes surrounding the iconic Haggard, as remembered by his friend of more than 50 years.

"It's for Merle," McDonald said of the book.

If you're looking for dirt on the Oildale native son who notched 38 No. 1 hits on Billboard's top country charts, you've got the wrong book.

It's neither a tell-all nor a biography. Instead, it's an invitation to Haggard's kitchen table at his home on Highmoor Avenue in Oildale when he showed up after a morning of fishing on the Kern River.

Haggard's wife, Bonnie Owens, Bonnie's mom, whom they all called Grandma, and McDonald were in the kitchen when Haggard came in, sat down with his guitar and played them a song he had just written on the shores of the Kern.

"The song, 'Mama Tried,' became an American classic," McDonald wrote. "I was standing next to Bonnie, listening intently. When he finished his new song, we all looked at one another, stunned by the storyline and the beauty of the melody."

The stories in this book are told, not from the polished pen of a professional writer, but in McDonald's subtle Oklahoma drawl, in the laid-back rhythms of a storyteller intent on sharing sometimes intimate, sometimes very public stories — moments, really — in the lives of these two men.

Haggard's outlook shines through. Five years after his death on his birthday in 2016, Haggard's kindness, his toughness, his sweet side and his ornery side, his interaction with people, his approach to life and the genius in his music all are documented in McDonald's loving portrayal.

It's as if music was wound up in the sinew and bone of Haggard's very being, until the two became one.

"Music can bring people together and help heal wounds," McDonald wrote. "It is a therapy for the soul and a language with the potential to connect people who may not even understand its meaning. Music is a lot like love. The world might do well to make more music."

McDonald takes his readers to the back of Merle's tour bus, and to center stage at venues across the nation, including the stage at Buck's Crystal Palace.

Owens generosity and class was in evidence the first time Merle Haggard & The Strangers performed at Buck's place, McDonald recalled.

"I listened as Buck introduced Merle by saying, 'This man has no peers; he's the greatest singer-songwriter in the history of country music.'"

McDonald, too, was convinced of Haggard's place in the annals of country. At one time he believed Elvis Presley was truly the king.

"He was simply the best," he said of Elvis, "until I heard Merle Haggard."

Sometimes referred to as the poet of the common man, Haggard was anything but common — even when he was out having fun.

McDonald recounts the details of a fishing excursion to the Kern when he and the Owens boys were still young.

At one point, Haggard reeled in what was commonly called a sucker fish. Haggard hated the ugly, invasive species so much he threw the fish to the side, pulled out his six-shooter and shot it six times.

Decades later, McDonald brought up the incident to his older and likely wiser friend, who said he remembered it.

Haggard may have been a bit chagrined, because after a pause, he told McDonald, "I guess I've always been a show-off."

He could also be a tough boss. McDonald learned as much working as Haggard's personal assistant, and from 2009 to 2016 as the driver of the Santa Fe Chief.

"Merle appreciated 100 percent honesty, 100 percent of the time," McDonald wrote in his book.

He may not have been 100 percent happy with you, McDonald continued, but he tried to understand.

So McDonald said he tried to be "99 percent honest, 100 percent of the time."

McDonald considers himself fortunate to have known and worked with Haggard for so many years. Merle was like a second father to his younger friend. He acted as mentor, advisor and over the years, recorded three songs written by McDonald.

"Merle Haggard was my idol, my father figure, my brother," McDonald wrote. "I loved him very much."

Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.