In 1973, he performed at the White House for President Richard Nixon. Thirty years later, he headlined the UFO Music Fest in Roswell, N.M. Haggard isn't exactly right wing or left wing – he's his own thing.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Haggard is famous for classics such as "Mama Tried," "Okie from Muskogee," "White Line Fever," "Workin' Man Blues," "Today I Started Loving You Again" and "That's the Way Love Goes." Between 1967 and 1988 Haggard released 38 chart-topping singles.

When he's on tour nowadays, Haggard travels in a 1996 MCI bus that is 45 feet long. "It's patterned after the Santa Fe Super Chief, a passenger train that ran across the country for years," Haggard says. "We've designed our buses after trains for about 20 years. We even got permission from Santa Fe to wear their colors. This coach offers an area in the back that I call my own, which is set up like a workman's quarters in a passenger train, with a little dinette set, my TV, an icebox, and a place to cook. I have a full-size bed right in the center of the coach, which is the safest place. I put the bed where it's least likely to get bumped or tipped. It's a pretty good setup for an ol' country singer." Haggard, 66, recently stirred up controversy with his single "That's the News," a slice of social commentary that critiques the media coverage of the war in Iraq.

"I'm the guy who wrote 'The Fightin' Side of Me' and I'm the guy who roots loudest at football games," Haggard says. "I'm for the flag, and I'm for the commander in chief, and I'm for the state of Texas and all that. But I was pissed off at the way the media was running tabloid stories all day long. At a certain time of the day, when you've got a war going on, there should be a place where you can get information and not be entertained. It's an insult to the soldiers, and to people who care about soldiers, if you don't give them news at the Walter Cronkite time of day."

The singer's latest album, Haggard Like Never Before, contains a wide spectrum of material. "Lonesome Day" is a western swing number about the erosion of individual freedom, while "I Hate To See It Go" is a tearjerker that finds Haggard telling his family how much he cherishes his time with them. (See review, below)

The new CD's liner notes include this unusual acknowledgment: "Album made possible because of dental surgery by Dr. Michael Herndon." Working closely with Herndon, the vocalist designed a new set of teeth shaped precisely the way his original teeth were. With a chuckle, Haggard explains, "My mouth has to be shaped right so that I can sing and sound like I did when I was young. You wouldn't take a pair of pliers to a trumpet, bend it up, knock holes in it, and then expect it to sound the same way. They've made a lot of advances in the area of rebuilding people's mouths, so I'm taking advantage of that."

At an age when most of his peers are slowing down, Haggard is actually speeding up. He has released five new albums since 2000. As the head of his own label, Hag Records, he plans on reissuing several of his classic albums, as well as producing new discs by other artists. Fueled by a restless spirit, the Hag keeps rollin' along.

Haggard's Latest Shows He's as Relevant as Ever

On his latest release, Haggard Like Never Before, Merle Haggard has gracefully mixed the personal with the political.

"Because of Your Eyes" is a tender, sentimental love song, and "Yellow Ribbons" is about citizens symbolically showing their concern for the troops during wartime.

Haggard and his old buddy Willie Nelson offer a warm duet on Woody Guthrie's "Reno Blues (Philadelphia Lawyer)."

This charming, topical disc on Haggard's Hag Records label demonstrates that Haggard's work is as relevant as ever.

SNAG HAG Upcoming Merle concerts

January
15, 16	Horseshoe Casino	Robinson, Miss.
17, 18	Grand Casino Biloxi	Biloxi, Miss.
19	Lucas Theatre	Savannah, Ga.
23	Charlotte County Memorial Auditorium	Punta Gorda, Fla.
February
21	Konocti Harbor Resort	Kelseyville, Calif.
23	Crazy Horse Steakhouse	Irvine, Calif.
26	Marquee Theatre	Tempe, Ariz.
27	Quechan Paradise	Casino Yuma, Ariz.
28	Texas Station Casino	North Las Vegas, Nev.