Merle Haggard Responds to Bob Dylan’s Controversial Speech

Merle Haggard didn’t take long to respond to Bob Dylan. The 77-year old country legend issued a statement yesterday (Feb. 7) that refuted Dylan’s claim charge that he wasn’t a fan of his. Haggard opened for Dylan during a tour in 2005.

“Bob Dylan, I've admired your songs since 1964,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “‘Don't Think Twice [It’s Alright]’ Bob, Willie [Nelson] and I just recorded it on our new album.”

While accepting MusiCares’ Person of the Year Award Friday night (Feb. 6), Dylan said, "Merle Haggard didn't even think much of my songs. I know he didn't. He didn't say that to me, but I know way back when he didn't. Buck Owens did, and he recorded some of my early songs…’Together Again,’ that's Buck Owens. And that trumps anything else out of Bakersfield. Buck Owens or Merle Haggard? If you had to have somebody's blessing, you can figure it out."

Haggard and Nelson were, along with Waylon Jennings, the main stars to come out of the Outlaw Country movement of the ‘70s. Their 1983 album, ‘Pancho & Lefty,’ is considered a high point of the genre.

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