Marty Haggard & Noel Haggard Are Singers Too
Marty Haggard is one of Merle Haggard’s four children with his first wife, Leona Hobbs. When Marty was born, Merle was doing time in prison in Sam Quentin for burglary, People reported. His first memory of his dad when he returned was “domestic combat.” He said his dad liked to argue, and his mom would take things one step further. “It was like a damn circus,” Marty said back in 1986.
But Marty shared in his dad’s talent and began touring with Merle when he was in his teens. In the 1970s, Marty had a small part in a TV movie and stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. The man shot him and Marty drove 15 miles until he found a 13-year-old girl who called for help.
He started a solo career in 1985 and released four singles, one which peaked at number 57 on the country charts. He was nominated for Top New Male Vocalist and one of his songs was covered by George Strait in 1992. But then he was injured in a car accident and suffered severe memory loss, requiring four years of recovery. In 1995, he signed with Critique Records as a Christian singer. He also plays tributes about his dad.
Noel Haggard was born to Merle and his first wife, Leona. He has a career in singing also. He opened many of his dad’s shows and sometimes operated a teleprompter. He released his debut album in 1997 and one song peaked at No. 75 on country charts. In 2003, George Strait covered one of his singles. Noel strongly favors his dad and has much of his dad’s talent.
Today, he frequently performs with his brother Ben Haggard.
