Long-Rumored Unheard Merle Haggard Songs Could Be On The Way
Ever since Merle Haggard’s passing on his 79th birthday on April 6th, 2016, there’s been talk of some 300 to 400 unreleased songs sitting in an archive somewhere in the bowels of the Merle Haggard estate. The idea that a treasure trove of Merle Haggard tracks yet to be released has intrigued country fans ever since.
The source of the information is none other than Merle Haggard himself. He told radio DJ Broadway in May of 2015, “I’ve probably got 300 to 400 songs that I haven’t released that I collected over the years. We call it ‘The Archive.’ And we haven’t released anything from that. When I get unable to record or sing anymore, or get killed or something, well they’ll probably put it out.”
With the upcoming release of the first of three Waylon Jennings archival albums called Songbird on October 3rd, there’s been a lot of buzz about what else might be swirling out there from country legends still waiting to be heard. Well it turns out that The Hag might be the next one we get to hear new stuff from.
While on the Drifting Cowboy Podcast recently, Merle’s son Ben Haggard said, “Oh yeah. There’s some stuff we’ve been messing around with in the studio. There’s stuff of his, you know, a good amount of archive. Live shows and stuff… my mother will probably end up doing something with. Getting some stuff out there.”
Okay, live shows would be cool. But what about new, original songs we’ve never heard before? “There’s stuff that has never been heard, new songs and stuff out there, for certain,” Ben Haggard confirms. “Which need to find a way out, if you ask me.”
But it doesn’t seem like it’s up to Ben Haggard. It’s up to his mother and Merle’s widow, Theresa Haggard, who has been very guarded with the Merle Haggard estate over the years. Along with keeping any archival songs close to the vest, a long-rumored biopic also has never seemed to make it out of the planning stages. A plan to open a Merle Haggard museum in the same building as the Johnny Cash Museum on Lower Broadway also got the kibosh in 2019.
But there might actually be a reason this time to finally let loose of some of the Merle Haggard archive material. Last week, it was announced that a Willie Nelson tribute album to Merle Haggard will be released in November. It appears the album was recorded some years ago since Willie’s long-time drummer Paul English appears on it. English passed away in 2020.
Also as part of the Willie Nelson album announcement, it was revealed that a career-spanning documentary on Merle Haggard called Highway 99: A Double Album directed by Ethan Hawke premiered last week at the Telluride Film Festival. Willie Nelson is featured as a primary interview subject in the film.
With the new documentary coming out, this might be the perfect opportunity to rekindle efforts to bring the Merle Haggard legacy back into focus. It can’t be easy for Merle’s family to go through old stuff that reminds them he’s gone. But coming up on the 10 year anniversary of his passing in 2026, it could be the perfect opportunity to restart efforts to make sure the memory of Merle Haggard doesn’t fade.
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September 7, 2025 @ 9:01 am
Let me guess; the tapes will be handed to Scooter Jennings.
September 7, 2025 @ 1:20 pm
Man your comments are really trite
September 7, 2025 @ 2:10 pm
Scooter?
September 7, 2025 @ 6:11 pm
He’s lost his marbles.
September 9, 2025 @ 5:06 am
you’re an idiot and I think we are all tired of your stupidity.
September 7, 2025 @ 10:37 am
Odd that it has been years since his death and it seems like they are really dragging their feet about releasing anything. Whatever happened to that Sturgill Simpson produced Ben Haggard album? It’s really disappointing that it’s taken a decade for really anything to really even appear on the horizon.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
September 7, 2025 @ 3:52 pm
Would exactly agree. Take way longer then it should
September 7, 2025 @ 6:21 pm
So true…let’s see it..Merle Haggard!
September 7, 2025 @ 11:19 am
When Merle Haggard died, it looked like Ben Haggard was positioned to make a run at a career of his own.
It’s too bad that that hasn’t gone anywhere and he’s down to teasing us with alleged releases from his father.
September 7, 2025 @ 6:24 pm
I can wait, but at my age, might not be much longer..but even the unreleased Haggard stuff, would be much better than what we see today! There’s probably an archive from Conway too
September 7, 2025 @ 1:17 pm
I love hearing about the “archive” or the “vault” most stars have/had. I wish that there was a stronger effort to organize and release material from artists that are gone. I’m sure legalities and contracts and all of that makes it messy.
Loretta Lynn has material waiting for a final album with her John Carter Cash sessions, and her vault isn’t acknowledged by MCA, even though she has 28 years with MCA Decca.
September 7, 2025 @ 6:25 pm
You said right Randy!
September 7, 2025 @ 2:08 pm
About thirty-five years ago I caught a guy named Marty Haggard in a club in Florida. He and his band were absolutely terrific! Was he related to Merle? Was he Merle’s offspring? If so, what ever happened to this guy?
September 7, 2025 @ 4:59 pm
He’s the son of Merle and Leona. He used to perform with Merle. He didn’t make it as an artist. He became a minister. At some point, Merle claimed Marty was harassing him and obtained a judicial order of protection against him. After Merle died, Marty appeared and performed together with Noel and Ben at the Country Reunion tribute, so it appears that they resolved certain family differences.
September 8, 2025 @ 7:12 am
The above post requires clarification as it may be a bit misleading. Marty Haggard’s mother is Leona Hobbs, Merle’s FIRST wife. Not to be confused with Merle’s THIRD wife, also named Leona [Leona Williams] who has far greater familiarity to Haggard fans.
For the record, Merle had four children with his first wife Leona (Hobbs) and two more (Jenessa & Ben) with his fifth wife Theresa. Marriages to his 2nd, 3rd & 4th wives did not result in any offspring.
September 10, 2025 @ 6:42 pm
Marty Haggard comes here every year to the old tow theater ….. its always a great time !
September 7, 2025 @ 5:17 pm
A Google search took two seconds to confirm he is Merle’s son.
September 7, 2025 @ 6:01 pm
While the idea of new Merle Haggard music does excite me, music is usually in “the vault” for a reason. If someone cuts a song they believe to be a smash, they release it. They don’t say, “Hey you know what, just hold off on this one til I’m dead five years and then I’ll REALLY impress people”
Merle Haggard’s legacy doesn’t seem to be as well managed as Cash’s. Don Williams is kinda in the same boat.
September 8, 2025 @ 2:37 am
@CF–I agree. This is not Keith Whitley we’re taliking about, where there’s a dearth of material. Merle Haggard recorded and issued singles and albums for about 50 years–from the mid-’60s right up until near his death in 2016. Upwards of 50 original albums. There’s a ton of his stuff to listen to, for whoever’s interested. I don’t have any more craving for “new” “undiscovered” Merle Haggard recordings than I do for films of undiscovered games pitched by Tom Seaver or hidden bouts fought by Muhammad Ali. They made their mark. I get that someone’s trying to sell something.
September 14, 2025 @ 10:23 pm
Apparently you’ve never heard of:
The Bootleg Series – Bob Dylan
Tracks I & II / The Promise – Springsteen
Archives Vol.1-3 ~ Neil Young
Bootleg Series – Miles Davis
Smashing Pumpkins – And the Aeroplane Flies High
I could go on and on.
Most of the albums Bob made in the 1980’s-90s were mediocre…until you listen to the Bootleg Series and realize that the songs were great, Bob was just picking the wrong versions to put ON his albums.
Springsteen wrote something like 90 songs for his Darkness On the Edge of Town masterpiece but never released all of the rest until The Promise, which is brilliant in and of itself.
Genius live performances and alternate studio versions of Miles Davis classics with Trane and his other classic bands on his Bootleg series of box sets.
There are tons of unreleased catacombs-like material from great artists out there. Hopefully Hag’s will be more of the same.
September 8, 2025 @ 6:36 am
Depends on the vault. I remember hearing that part of why Prince had so much unreleased music was that the label didn’t want to flood the market. Considering the claims that there are as many as 8000 unreleased Prince songs from his vault, there’s got to be at least an album worth of stuff worth releasing in there. Given the length of his career and how amazing he was, I could believe that 300-400 unreleased Merle Haggard tracks could include some gems.
September 8, 2025 @ 10:37 am
“8000 unreleased Prince songs from his vault,”
Yeah, I believe that. And I believe that the tambourine-playng waitress at the Y’all Come Back Saloon knew the words to at least a million tunes.
September 14, 2025 @ 10:13 pm
Too bad Prince couldn’t write his way out of a paper bag. Quite the virtuoso however.
September 8, 2025 @ 7:07 am
In an interview with Otis Gibbs, Kenny Vaughn said that Merle played some of those unreleased tracks for Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives during a visit. According to Vaughn, the lyrics raised some eyebrows, which might be why the family is hesitant to release those songs.
September 23, 2025 @ 1:03 pm
“I’m White and I’m proud and I’ve got a song to sing”
We need an honest man like Merle Haggard now more than ever.
September 8, 2025 @ 2:04 pm
Well I’ll believe it when I see it but I haven’t seen it yet.
Billy Joe Shaver
September 9, 2025 @ 6:49 am
Four Merle Haggard Bear Family Boxsets comprehensively covered the early portion of his career on the Tally, Capitol and MCA record labels. Those sets included a handful of previously unreleased tracks. Hearing unreleased vintage recordings from Haggard in his prime was most welcome but most of the unreleased songs were rather unremarkable although there were a few gems. They do provide evidence that in most cases there is a reason why songs were never released at the time. For me the the most appreciated tracks on those sets were the excellent “B” sides of several singles that were never released on albums.
Bear Family was usually comprehensive regarding the inclusion of unreleased tracks in their box sets. So I’m doubtful that there are any more pre-1981 studio recordings remaining in the vault unless there are “live” recordings or personal demo sessions from that era made by Haggard and kept in his archives.
Like most singers Haggard’s vibrant voice weakened with age and time. Years of smoking and a reckless lifestyle surely did not help. Vocals from his final years were not as strong and can often be disappointing. The era that any unreleased tracks come from will be critical to how well they would be received by Haggard fans.
As a lifelong Haggard fan I’m hoping that they will indeed be worth listening to and are not diminished by newly created obtrusive backing tracks.
September 11, 2025 @ 6:51 pm
I would love to hear some new hag. Waylons stuff so far has been good so im optimistic.