The final song Merle Haggard ever recorded, “Kern River Blues,” is being released as a thank you to his fans. Haggard’s estate is premiering the single on Willie Nelson’s SiriusXM channel Willie’s Roadhouse today (May 12th) at 5 pm ET, followed by a digital download at merlehaggard.com and iTunes.
“Merle Haggard spent the last few months of his life battling the pneumonia that finally felled him,” the family states. “During those months, he spent a significant amount of time in the hospital, which caused him to cancel a couple of tours. When it was suggested that he not go back on the road and rest at home, he did…while also walking across the road to his studio to record a few nuggets he’d been writing while in the hospital. His final song is titled ‘Kern River Blues,’ which is about his memories of leaving Bakersfield in the late ‘70s.”
The family has received a tremendous outpouring of love and prayers for Haggard from his fans after the legendary singer passed away on April 6th, his 79th birthday, from pneumonia that he had been battling for months. Since then, the family had been searching for a way to thank them and decided to release the song which was recorded two months prior on February 9th.
Ten percent of all gross proceeds from the sale of this song will go to homeless charities.
