Songs for the Mama That Tried [SEP] performer
Songs for the Mama That Tried
Songs for the Mama That Tried is the 32nd studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers, released in 1981. A Gospel album, it reached Number 46 on the "Billboard" country albums chart.
Background.
"Songs for the Mama That Tried" was Haggard's last principal release on MCA, having signed with Epic Records. The title alludes to Haggard's 1968 song "Mama Tried", a song which became a cornerstone of his career
"the potential to reach beyond the country audience that went unrealized, at least in Merle's version, and the whole album has pop ambition unusual for a late-Sixties country release." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote: "While 'Mama Tried' stands out among Haggard's original material, 'I'll Always Know' and 'You'll Never Love Me Now' are both solid songs." The song "Mama Tried" won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Track listing.