Noel Haggard

Noel Haggard was born in Bakersfield CA. It's no wonder that his music is of the raw nature....pure, simple and easy on the ears. Born the fourth child of the Great Living Legend Merle Haggard and Billie Leona Hobbs, Noels soul permeates the same taste in music that his father and the country music fore fathers of Merles childhood days, and they are so vividly displayed in Noels music. Not to be denied his roots he has gained many valuable musical lessons from some of the greatest country musicians from the 50's, 60' & 70's. Somehow Noel has taken a little from each influence to make his own delectable sound. Noel has said," That some of the greatest musicians in the world "borrowed" styles from the musical greats before them to achieve their own style." Well in that case Noel is in abundance... Noel's passion for music comes honestly, there are musicians on both sides of Noels family. When you are surrounded by music from all sides how can you deny the calling? Noel started sneaking Merle's guitars at an early age to learn how to pick. Like every young boy, Noel wanted to be just like his father. Eventually he was caught sneaking the guitar off the bus to play, however the story has a happy ending for Noel. Instead of being chastised by his father for playing with his guitar, Merle called his son to him and gave the guitar to Noel as a birthday present and the road to musical talent started to pave way. Noel a shy young boy started practicing in the bathroom where no one could hear him play. Eventually, Noel was putting on shows along with his family for Legends like Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. Even then Noel knew that playing for people of that stature was enough to make a young boy nervous, he now talks about those times with a sentimental smile and the wonderment of it all. "Boy what a life I have been fortunate to live." is what you hear him say about those times now. Noel started out with his own band around 22 yrs old in Redding CA. Noel didn't make much money normally working for beer, but at 22 yrs old what is there to complain about..free alcohol...hell you would have thought they hit the BIG TIME, unfortunately a few weeks in to playing for beer the club owners realized that was not a profitable resolution and so began their first paying gigs. Noel and his band became very popular in the North Cal area, but just couldn't get any exposure. Noel at the age of 29 decided after being on the road with Merle that it was his turn to strike out on his own in Nashville. It wasn't long after arriving in Nashville that Noel was playing in a local hot spot and was found by a representative, Estelle Sowers of HallMark Directions. Hallmark Directions has artist such as John Michael Montgomery, Montgomery & Gentry, The Whites and Doug Stone to name a few. Noel went in to audition for Atlantic, one of the songs being "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa" and was signed with Atlantic Records. Noel was signed for three years with Atlantic. According to several sources Noel didn't get the exposure he deserved. When the contract was up Noel left Nashville with a broken heart and crushed spirit. Several years passed by before Noel decided it was time to get back in the game. Since that time Noel has grown to understand that stardom is not what he was after to begin with. Noel plays for Noel and his fans now, and that concept of thinking has allowed him to dig deeper into his own style of music and not the corporate styles that are divvied out by record executives. Noel is comfortable with who he is, and that he is the son of a living legend, but most of all he is comfortable with fact that being in the shadows of a man like Merle is a pretty fortunate place to be. His love for his father and family have come together to make Noel the artist that he is today...and his new album "Nite Time Man" (that merle named) shows these qualities that he has acquired over the years. This album takes you on a journey in time with some earlier renditions of Dealing with the Devil, Stop the World (in memory of Bonnie Owens), Blues Man and a song written by Merle for Noel "Learning to Live with Myself" and a few that have never been recorded. Noel is definitely reminiscent of his father, and yet somehow Noel has taken the great vocal and phrasing lessons of Merle and successfully used them to acquire is own personal style. After 22 yrs in this business Noel is enjoying his time on stage and the pleasant cheers of encouragement that his fans provide. Today Noel says the most important thing to him is making a living doing what he loves and carrying on the tradition that his father started, after all he is just a " Working Man".Noel quoted, "That at the end of the day without the fans your just singing to yourself"God Bless to All My Fans, Friends & Family