I'm a Lonesome Fugitive
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive | ||||
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Ken Nelson | ||||
Merle Haggard and the Strangers chronology | ||||
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Singles from I'm a Lonesome Fugitive | ||||
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I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is the third studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1967.
Recording and composition
The song "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" brought Haggard country stardom. Although it sounds
Richard Kimble. Haggard felt a connection to the song immediately and when it was released it became his first number one country hit. When Anderson played the song for Haggard, she was unaware about his prison stretch. "I guess I didn't realize how much the experience at San Quentin did to him, 'cause he never talked about it all that much," Bonnie Owens, Haggard's backup singer, and then-wife, is quoted in the liner notes to the 1994 retrospective, Down Every Road. "I could tell he was in a dark mood...and I said, 'Is everything okay?' And he said, 'I'm really scared.' And I said, 'Why?' And he said, 'Cause I'm afraid someday I'm gonna be out there...and there's gonna be some convict...some prisoner that was in there the same time I was in, stand up—and they're gonna be about the third row down—and say, 'What do you think you're doing, 45200?'"[1] Haggard would address the issue on his next album, Branded Man
.
In 1996, I'm a Lonesome Fugitive was reissued by BGO Records along with Mama Tried.[2]
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [3] |
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive was released on March 4, 1967 and rose to number 3 on the Billboard country albums chart and made it to number 165 on the pop charts. As with his previous album Jimmie Rodgers classic "Rough and Rowdy Ways," insisting that Haggard "could evoke the Ghosts of Country Past in an absolutely convincing way without nostalgia or imitation."[3]
Track listing
All songs by Merle Haggard unless otherwise noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Tommy Collins , Haggard | 2:06 |
Personnel
- Merle Haggard – vocals, guitar
- Roy Nichols – guitar
- Ralph Mooney – steel guitar
- George French – piano
- Jerry Ward – bass
- Eddie Burris – drums
with
- Lewis Talley – guitar
- Billy Mize – guitar
- Bonnie Owens – harmony vocals
and
- James Burton – guitar, dobro
- Glen Campbell – guitar
- Glen D. Hardin – piano
- Jim Gordon – drums
Chart positions
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
Billboard Country Albums | 3 |
Billboard Pop Albums | 165 |
References
- ^ Down Every Road 1962–1994 compilation album. Liner notes by Daniel Cooper
- AllMusic
- ^ AllMusic
- ISBN 978-0-292-71771-8.