If you look up ten lists or playlists of country Christmas songs, you’ll likely find Merle Haggard’s 1973 No. 1 hit “If We Make It Through December” in at least five of them. In my opinion ...

It's not one of Haggard's better-known classic songs the VP pick has adopted, but a later composition that was released in 2005 and didn't really get a lot of subsequent pickup until now ...

Merle Haggard, the country music legend known for his iconic baritone voice and tales of working-class struggles, wasn't just ...

Though Haggard didn’t consider “If We Make It Through December” a Christmas song, it does reflect the economic anxiety the commercialized holiday intensifies for struggling families.

Courtesy: Budd Butcher/U.S. Air Force From Merle Haggard’s “Fightin’ Side of Me” to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” country music is often associated with ...