Merle Haggard first became aware of Blaze and his songs in 1987. Merle was at Willie’s studio in Spicewood Tx, recording the Seashores of Old Mexico album.
This was the Willie and Merle follow-up album to Pancho and Lefty, which put Blaze’s pal Townes Van Zandt on the map beyond the Texas and Nashville songwriter circles. According to Merle, he had been sleeping off a hard night’s partying and woke up to hear Willie singing “If I Could Only Fly” in the studio. Merle said he was immediately taken by the power of the lyrics and joined Willie to sing it with him. Like “Pancho and Lefty,” the song was delivered to Willie by his daughter, Lana Nelson, a close friend of Peggy Underwood. Peggy was Blaze and Townes’ lawyer, who handled both music business is- sues and the occasional misdemeanor charges for both songwriters. Peggy funneled both “Pancho” and “Fly” to Willie with Lana as the conduit. The “Seashore’s” album was released in October of 1987 with “If I Could Only Fly” designated as the single and promoted for radio play. Blaze and his friends all hoped this recording would do for Blaze what Willie and Merle’s recording of “Pancho and Lefty” had done for Townes. Blaze was staying at his friend and fellow songwriter George Ensle’s house, sleeping in George’s daughter’s playhouse in the back- yard when Blaze got word KVET radio in Austin would be premiering the single the following day for its Austin radio debut. George and Blaze listened on George’s boombox, sitting in the backyard. It was the first time Blaze heard the recording, as he had not participated in the recording at Pedernales Studio. In an interview with a Nashville music publication, Merle was quoted as saying Blaze’s song was the best country song he’d heard in 15 years. Blaze kept a copy of that music rag rolled up in his boot for weeks so it was readily available to show friends and to help negotiate potential gigs. The single hit #58 on the Merle Haggard’s Appreciation for Blaze And His Music By Lost John Casner Merle Haggard first became aware of Blaze and his songs in 1987. Merle was at Willie’s studio in Spicewood Tx, recording the Seashores of Old Mexico album. Billboard Country Single Chart with a bullet in its first week and seemed poised to follow the trajectory of Willie and Merle’s “Pancho and Lefty.” Unfortunately, the new management team was just taking over after Sony bought Columbia and Epic Records and the new leadership group thought the recording at 5 minutes and 13 seconds was too long for country radio airplay. They pulled all radio promotion and, as far as country radio was concerned, the song disappeared. The single never rose beyond #58 on the singles chart and Blaze’s dream of a national hit and the type of recognition Townes received from “Pancho and Lefty” never materialized.
Merle continued to play “If I Could Only Fly” in his shows and on several TV appearances. He recorded a video singing the song to be played at Tammy Wynette’s Nashville funeral in April of 1998. While Haggard continued to sing and praise the song, Merle never met Blaze and never heard any of Blaze’s re- cordings, prior to 1998.
In 1998, Merle was in Austin to record a song for Asleep at the Wheel’s Bob Wills Tribute album, “Ride With Bob.” Frank Campbell was playing bass for me at the time and was also Ray Benson’s studio man- ager and sound engineer. At Frank’s suggestion, I left a copy of Blaze’s Outhouse cassette at Bismeaux Studios and Frank handed it to Merle at an opportune pause in the recording session. I received a call from Merle a few days later, saying he had been listening to the Blaze Foley recording and wanted to know all about Blaze and his music. He asked if I could come up to a show in Denison, Texas the following weekend. Merle invited me on the bus and we talked about Blaze and his music.
Merle said he had already been working on a new recording of “If I Could Only Fly” but was really interested in hearing all of Blaze’s songs and learning as much as he could about the man and his songs. For the next 17 years, whenever Merle was playing in Texas, Louisiana, or New Mexico, he would call to invite me to be his guest.
At our next rendezvous a few months later at Stubb’s Amphitheater in Austin, I brought Merle CD copies of the Muscle Shoals album and the Zephyr 45 RPM with “If I Could Only Fly” and “Let Me Ride In Your Big Cadillac.” Later, I brought him VHS video tapes, mostly videotaped by Hank Sinatra at the Outhouse and other venues and copies of any press clippings or reviews I could find. During one of these visits, he played me his recently recorded version of “If I Could Only Fly,” recorded at his studio in Redding, California. It was a similar arrangement to the version he recorded with Willie on the Seashores album, with a standard country ballad feel. A few months later, visiting on the bus, he excitedly asked me to listen to a new recording of the song. He said he had been listening to Blaze’s version from the Outhouse and said he now knew how he was supposed to sing the song. The new version had a much more acoustic feel, with Abe Manual playing a harmonica part very similar to Ed Bradfield’s on the Outhouse recording. Merle’s vocal phrasing frequently mirrored Blaze’s phrasing and the sparse arrangement was built around a finger picking acoustic guitar. Several times as he was playing the re- cording for me, he would ask “What do you think of that? Do you think Blaze would be happy with that? Does that sound like Blaze?” This version became the title track for Merle’s next album. Aside from the title track, the rest of the album also portrays a more acoustic, singer/ songwriter vibe compared to Merle’s typical arrange- ments. It was obvious that Blaze, after his death, had influenced one of his songwriting heroes. (Merle’s album, “If I Could Only Fly” reached number 26 on Billboard’s country album chart.)
Merle would ask about Blaze’s friends, fellow musi- cians, girlfriends, and family. I was able to bring several of Blaze’s friends, including George Ensle and Mandy Mercier, to meet Merle, hangout on the bus, sometimes play a few songs, and on one occasion write a song with Merle. Mandy, Merle, and I fooled around trying to finish a song Merle started. His hook line was “I Was Alone The Day I Met You, I’ll Be Alone The Day You’re Gone.” In one discussion with Merle about Blaze, I was able to tell Merle about the Nashville country music trade paper that quoted him saying “If I Could Only Fly” was the best country song he’d heard in fifteen years. When I told Merle that Blaze kept a copy rolled up in his boot for weeks, he closed his eyes and visibly shuddered. It took hm a few seconds to regain his composure. He opened his eyes, looked at me, and grinned. It was a satisfied grin.
During one of these visits, I was on the bus, trading songs with Abe Manual. Abe played fiddle, mandolin, accordion, and harmonica with Merle for several years. I was playing Merle’s parlor sized, acoustic guitar, a gift to Merle from Marty Stuart who told Merle he needed a smaller guitar for jamming on the bus. Abe was playing mandolin and after we traded a few songs, he asked me to play a Blaze song. Then, to my amazement, Abe played and sang several Blaze songs. I asked Abe how he had learned all those Blaze songs. He laughed and said, “Blaze is just about all Merle listens to on the bus. We’re all either listening to Blaze or watching Blaze videos on the TV. And we spend a lot of time on the bus.”
I received a call from Merle in June of 2004. He told me he would be playing at Willie’s upcoming 4th of July Picnic behind Billy Bob’s in the Ft. Worth Stockyards. Merle said he would be staying at the same hotel as Willie and expected to be at the hotel until midafternoon on Sunday, July 4th. He suggested I bring recording equipment to Ft. Worth on the 4th along with the multi- track of Blaze’s recording of “If I Could Only Fly” from the Outhouse. He thought Willie would be glad to join us in Merle’s hotel room before they had to head to the stockyards and he and Willie could add harmony vocals to Blaze’s recording. Merle said he thought Blaze would really appreciate he and Willie singing backup with him. I loaded my pickup truck with the necessary recording gear, including the same microphones Blaze used at the Outhouse and left my home in Dripping Springs early on the morning of the 4th of July. I arrived in the stockyards around 11 AM and began trying to reach Merle’s manager, Frank Mull. Merle was running late coming from California, but Frank thought he still could make it in time to do the recording at the hotel. After several more phone calls, it became apparent Merle was not going to arrive in time to do any record- ing before his performance at the stockyards and they were headed out early the next morning. Merle arrived just in time to put on a great show. He talked a bit about Blaze before singing “Fly,” but yet another Blaze Foley recording opportunity had gone awry.
In October of 2005, Merle was booked at the Backyard, a large outdoor venue west of Austin. Merle had asked me about Blaze’s family and when he learned about Blaze’s sister Marsha, he asked me to contact her and invite her to visit before the show at the Backyard. I contacted Marsha and she arranged to come to Austin to meet with Merle and his manager, Frank Mull. As luck would have it, driving to the show with Marsha we were listening to Austin’s KGSR radio. During the drive, KGSR mentioned Merle’s upcoming show and then played John Prine’s recording of Blaze’s “Clay Pigeons.” Merle was very pleased to get to know Blaze’s sister and extended every hospitality. Marsha remained in contact with Merle over the years and maintained a friendship with Frank.
Merle’s last show in Austin before his passing was at the Nutty Brown Amphitheater near Dripping Springs in November of 2015. Merle invited my wife, Ronda, and I to join them before the Nutty Brown show in the green room. The green room was a separate building for band members and crew to eat, relax, and prepare for the show. The gathering that evening was a special event, Frank Mull’s 75th birthday party. It was a relatively large group, with all the band and crew members, including Merle’s son Ben who had been playing guitar in the band the last couple of years. The road crew and some media folks were there and several special guests, including Connie Nelson, Willie’s former wife. Someone asked Merle a question about Blaze and then Merle began ask- ing me question after question about Blaze. How many songs did he write? What did he do when he wasn’t playing music? What happened to all his recordings? Where did he stay? Who were his influences? We must have talked about Blaze for 45 minutes when someone opened the door and called out “five minutes till showtime.” Everyone began grabbing their gear and heading for the stage. Later, Ronda and I talked about all of Merle’s questions about Blaze and getting me to tell all those stories about Blaze. We both felt it was as if Merle was taking a last opportunity to share his appreciation for Blaze and music. Merle had been in and out of the hospital several times that year and was still recovering from surgery to remove a large tumor from his lung. Merle passed away due to respiratory and heart issues on his 79th birthday, April 6, 2016. During that last visit to Blaze’s hometown, Merle seemed determined to share Blaze’s legacy to as many people as possible, especially with his son Ben. His music and songs, what kind of man he was, and how he was killed, standing up for a friend. A person who stood up for what was right, regardless of the cost or risk, with no concern for how others might judge him. On the bus with Merle and Freddy Powers
music@lostartrecords.com
512-923-1733
1102 Live Oak Ridge, Austin, TX, 78746
