My House Of Memories: An Autobiography

Description

Merle Haggard’s life is a cross between Jack Kerouac, James Dean and Billy the Kid, with a healthy dose of country music mixed in. Born in California in 1937, he was always the running kind, never satisfied sitting still. This ultimately got him into trouble: starting at age thirteen Haggard relates his storied history of crime, when he escaped from his first incarceration at a juvenile detention center, only to do so four more times before the age of nineteen, when he ended up in federal prison at San Quentin.

My House of Memories reads like a thriller at points, detailing Haggard’s close relationship with one of the most notorious serial rapists of all time, a inter-prison gambling ring run by Haggard himself, and the tragic death of his close friend, an inmate shot as they were both trying to escape. Using Johnny Cash as an inspiration to clean up his life, Haggard tells us about his discovery of his own musical talent, and how he drew of his experiences for material, to become one of the biggest country stars of all-time. By the early nineties, Haggard had made well over $100 million and spent it all on gambling and drugs. With deeply personal accounts of his marriages and family life, children born, and countless personal examinations. My House of Memories is a volume that lines up with the best of music biographies and autobiographies on the market, making the Johnny Cash story, Walk the Line, seem tame in comparison.

Reviews

When I started to have to deal with all those things that have to do with real life, that's when Merle's music started to make sense to me - Emmylou Harris

Author description

Merle Haggard was born in 1937 in Bakersfield, California. Leading a tumultuous life, he ultimately found unparralleled musical success and has won three Grammy Awards, fourteen Academy of Country Music Awards, five Country Music Association Awards, and has recorded forty-one number on hits. He is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. At 73, he is currently on the road performing, and his new album was just released in April 2010.