There is no doubt that Ben Haggard is as great as his late father, Merle Haggard. Ben has been inspired by his father. He worked as the lead guitarist of his father’s band. In addition, Ben worked with other artists. Even after the death of his father, Ben keeps his father’s music alive by performing them. One of the songs Ben performed was Merle Haggard’s “Footlights.”
“Footlights” Cover
In 2017, Ben collaborated with Fender. Fender is a company that manufactures guitar of different kinds and its accessories. Ben recorded a video singing his father’s song “Footlights” while using one of the company’s acoustic guitar. Ben sang a stripped-down version of the song. His rendition shows the raw emotions of the song. Ben changed some words in his version. Instead of saying he’s a forty-year-old man, Ben changed it to his current age.
“But I’m forty-one years old and I ain’t got no place to go. “
Ben did a great job performing the song. He sounded like his father. There is no doubt he really is the son of the legendary Merle Haggard.
The Original Version
“Footlights” was a song written by Merle Haggard in 1979. The song was part of his twenty-ninth studio album Serving 190 Proof. His single was not able to enter the Billboard chart. However, the album reached number seventeen on the Country Albums chart. Despite the song not securing a spot on Billboard, “Footlights” was one of the songs remembered in his album.
What the Song is All About
In Merle’s song, he talked about a musician who is going through a crisis in his career life. He is getting tired of what he does, but he doesn’t have any choice. He must keep on performing for the people.
Merle Haggard’s Second Version
In 2006, Merle re-recorded the song, but this time he collaborated with his friend George Jones. The song became part of their studio album Kickin’ Out the Footlights… Again.
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ben haggard, footlights, merle haggard