WORKING MAN’S POET: A TRIBUTE TO MERLE HAGGARD AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT WAL-MART AND AT iTUNES TODAY
Broken Bow Records Releases Star-Studded Tribute Album Featuring New Recordings Of The Hag’s Classics By Some Of Today’s Hottest Country Stars
NASHVILLE, TN (April 1, 2014) – Today Broken Bow Records is pleased to release a star-studded tribute compilation honoring one of the greatest Country music icons of our time – Merle Haggard.
The musical celebration, WORKING MAN’S POET: A TRIBUTE TO MERLE HAGGARD, features brand new covers of some of the living legend’s biggest hits, recorded by some of the hottest stars in Country music today. The album includes performances by: Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Kristy Lee Cook, Ben Haggard, Randy Houser, Toby Keith, Dustin Lynch, Joe Nichols, Jake Owen, Parmalee, Thompson Square and James Wesley.
Physical copies of the album are available exclusively at Wal-Mart and through mail order at Walmart.com. The physical version of the album only includes a cover of “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down” by Garth Brooks.
Digital copies of the album may be purchased exclusively at iTunes here: http://smarturl.it/TheHagTribute-iTunes
BBR Music Group President/ CEO Benny Brown and Merle Haggard have been friends for nearly 40 years. Brown’s purpose for this album is to celebrate Merle Haggard’s incredible legacy and to endear his songs to a new generation of country music fans.
On Sunday, April 6th, Merle Haggard will be honored with the Academy of Country Music’s prestigious Crystal Milestone Award to commemorate his prolific 50 years in Country music. The 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will air live at 8 pm EST/ 7 pm CST on The CBS Television Network.
WORKING MAN’S POET: A TRIBUTE TO MERLE HAGGARD
Official Track Listing:
1. Misery And Gin(performed by Randy Houser)
2. Footlights (performed by Joe Nichols)
3. Going Where The Lonely Go (performed by Jason Aldean)
4. Today I Started Loving You Again(performed by Kristy Lee Cook)
5. Carolyn (performed by Toby Keith)
6. Pancho And Lefty(performed by Luke Bryan & Dierks Bentley)
7. Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down(* performed by Garth Brooks)
8. You Take Me For Granted (performed by Thompson Square)
9. Mama Tried (performed by Ben Haggard)
10. That’s The Way Love Goes (performed by Dustin Lynch)
11. Make Up and Faded Blue Jeans(performed by Jake Owen)
12. I’m A Lonesome Fugitive (performed by James Wesley)
13. Workin’ Man Blues (performed by Parmalee)
14. Are The Good Times Really Over(performed by Jason Aldean)
15. Let’s Chase Each Other Around The Room (performed by Thompson Square)
16. I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink (performed by Dustin Lynch)
17. The Fightin’ Side Of Me (performed by James Wesley)
18. My Favorite Memory (performed by Joe Nichols)
19. Ramblin’ Fever (performed by Randy Houser)
20. Sing Me Back Home (performed by Ben Haggard)
*Garth Brooks’ performance is only available on physical product
ABOUT THE LEGENDARY MERLE HAGGARD:
At the age of 76, the veteran singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/bandleader is still making some of the most compelling music of his long and storied career. It almost goes without saying that Merle Haggard is widely regarded as country music’s greatest living recording artist. A rugged individualist who simultaneously embodies and transcends the genre, Haggard is both a seminal superstar and an unrepentant outsider. Over the course of a remarkably prolific five-decade career, he’s consistently shown himself to be an uncompromising creative force, far more concerned with pursuing his iconoclastic vision than with meeting the expectations of the music-industry establishment.
Along the way, Haggard has scored no less than 39 #1 country hits; won various Grammy, CMA and ACM awards; become the only California-born artist in the Country Music Hall of Fame; been the only country performer ever featured on the cover of the jazz bible Downbeat; as well as the only man to be invited to perform at the White House and invited to serve time in San Quentin Penitentiary.
His prison experiences led Haggard—who’d begun playing guitar at the age of 12 and worshipped Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams—to take stock of his life and decide to pursue a career in music. Upon his 1962 release, he became a fixture on Bakersfield, California’s thriving country music scene, working manual labor jobs by day and playing local clubs by night. A string of singles for the local Tally label led to a deal with Capitol Records, and in 1965 Haggard launched an incredible string of classic hits including “Swinging Doors,” “The Bottle Let Me Down,” “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive,” “Branded Man,” “Sing Me Back Home,” “Today I Started Loving You Again,” “Mama Tried,” “Hungry Eyes,” “Silver Wings,” “Workin’ Man Blues,” “The Fightin’ Side of Me,” “If We Make It Through December” and the much-misunderstood “Okie From Muskogee.”
ABOUT BROKEN BOW RECORDS:
Founded by President/ CEO Benny Brown in 1997, BROKEN BOW RECORDS continues to make a name for itself in the Country music industry. The flagship label which boasts a roster of talented artists that includes multi-platinum superstar Jason Aldean, #1 chart-topper Dustin Lynch, American Idol’s Kristy Lee Cook, James Wesley and newcomer Jackie Lee, has spurned two additional labels, a management company and a publishing company – making the BBR Music Group umbrella the largest independent Country label group in the United States. Founded in March 2009 as a continuation of the passion and determination that spawned the success of Broken Bow, STONEY CREEK RECORDS boasts a roster which includes 2x ACM and 2012 CMA “Vocal Duo of the Year” and GRAMMY nominees Thompson Square; ACM and CMA nominee Randy Houser as well as #1 chart-toppers Parmalee and newcomer Lindsay Ell. RED BOW RECORDS, in partnership with the country’s largest independent distributor RED Distribution, a Division of Sony, was founded in October 2012 and boasts an artist roster of 4x GRAMMY nominee and CMA and ACM award winner Joe Nichols and hot Country newcomers David Fanning and Chase Bryant. The BBR Music Group is headquartered in Nashville, TN and is distributed by Sony RED. http://www.bbrmusicgroup.com
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