A Friend in California (album)

Haggard produced the album with Ron "Snake" Reynolds. Most of the songs were written by Haggard and Freddy Powers, who had become one of Haggard's favorite writers during this period. A Friend in California boasts a re-energized-sounding Haggard performing several up-tempo numbers like "This Song is for You," "Silverthorn Mountain," and "I Had a Beautiful Time." He also plays off his own legend with "The Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home" and the autobiographical "Mama's Prayer" which pays tribute to his late mother. Other noteworthy tracks is his bluesy take on the Floyd Tillman classic "This Cold War with You" and the obligatory western swing paean "Texas."

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	(B+)^[2]

Music critic Robert Christgau wrote "Just when I decide he's gonna lay back forever he ambles into this. No Nippophobia, minimal love pap, a touch of Mexico, and lots of swing—except for one Freddy Powers pledge it keeps going till the obligatory sentimentality of the last two cuts."^[2]

Track listing

"A Friend in California" (Freddy Powers) – 3:18
"This Time I Really Do" (Powers) – 3:00
"This Cold War with You" (Floyd Tillman) – 1:52
"I Had a Beautiful Time" (Haggard) – 3:01
"Texas" (Haggard, Powers) – 3:01
"The Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home" (Haggard, Powers) – 2:23
"Mama's Prayer" (Haggard) – 2:50
"Silverthorn Mountain" (Haggard) – 2:01
"This Song is for You" (Powers, Mary Lou Powers) – 3:32
"Thank You For Keeping Our House" (Haggard, Debbie Parret) – 3:18

Personnel

Merle Haggard – vocals, guitar
Roy Nichols – guitar
Biff Adam – drums
Jimmy Belken – fiddle
Clint Strong – guitar
Mark Yeary – keyboards
Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro
Don Markham – trumpet, saxophone
Gary Church – trombone, trumpet
Dennis Hromek – bass
Donna Faye – background vocals
Freddy Powers – background vocals

References

↑ "A Friend in California > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
1 2 Christgau, Robert. "A Friend in California > Review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved February 22, 2015.

Merle Haggard

The Strangers: Roy Nichols; Norman Hamlet; Biff Adam; Dennis Hromek; Bobby Wayne

Marcia Nichols

Eddie Burris

George French

Jerry Ward

Studio albums

Strangers
Swinging Doors
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive
Branded Man
Sing Me Back Home
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde
Mama Tried
Pride in What I Am
Same Train, A Different Time
A Portrait of Merle Haggard
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)
Hag
Someday We'll Look Back
Let Me Tell You About a Song
It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)
If We Make It Through December
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album
Keep Movin' On
It's All in the Movies
My Love Affair with Trains
The Roots of My Raising
Ramblin' Fever
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today
My Farewell to Elvis
I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
Serving 190 Proof
The Way I Am
Back to the Barrooms
Big City
Going Where the Lonely Go
That's the Way Love Goes
It's All in the Game
Kern River
Out Among the Stars
A Friend In California
Chill Factor
5:01 Blues
Blue Jungle
1994
1996
If I Could Only Fly
Roots, Volume 1
The Peer Sessions
Haggard Like Never Before
Unforgettable
Chicago Wind
The Bluegrass Sessions
I Am What I Am
Working in Tennessee

Live albums

Okie from Muskogee
The Fightin' Side of Me
I Love Dixie Blues
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
Amber Waves of Grain
Motorcycle Cowboy: Live at Billy Bob's Texas
Ol' Country Singer
Live from Austin, TX
Live from Austin, TX '78

Gospel albums

The Land of Many Churches
Songs for the Mama That Tried
Cabin in the Hills
Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)

Holiday albums

Merle Haggard's Christmas Present
Goin' Home for Christmas
Pancho, Lefty and Rudolph (with Willie Nelson)
I Wish I Was Santa Claus

The Strangers albums

Instrumental Sounds of Merle Haggard's Strangers
Introducing My Friends The Strangers
Getting to Know Merle Haggard's Strangers
Honky Tonkin'
Totally Instrumental (With One Exception...)

Singles

1960s

"Sing a Sad Song" "Sam Hill" "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can" "Swinging Doors" "The Bottle Let Me Down" "The Fugitive" "I Threw Away the Rose" "Branded Man" "Sing Me Back Home" "The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde" "Mama Tried" "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" "Hungry Eyes" "Workin' Man Blues" "Okie from Muskogee"

1970s

"The Fightin' Side of Me" "Street Singer" "Jesus, Take a Hold" "I Can't Be Myself" "Soldier's Last Letter" "Someday We'll Look Back" "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" "Carolyn" "Grandma Harp" "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" "The Emptiest Arms in the World" "Everybody's Had the Blues" "If We Make It Through December" "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" "Old Man from the Mountain" "Kentucky Gambler" "Always Wanting You" "Movin' On" "It's All in the Movies" "The Roots of My Raising" "Here Comes the Freedom Train" "Cherokee Maiden" "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday" "Ramblin' Fever" "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today" "From Graceland to the Promised Land" "Running Kind" "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall" "It's Been a Great Afternoon" "The Way It Was in '51" "Red Bandana" "My Own Kind of Hat"

1980s – 1990s

"The Way I Am" "Misery and Gin" "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" "Leonard" "Rainbow Stew" "My Favorite Memory" "Big City" "Dealing with the Devil" "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" "Going Where the Lonely Go" "You Take Me for Granted" "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)" "It's All in the Game" "That's the Way Love Goes" "Someday When Things Are Good" "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room" "A Place to Fall Apart" "Make-Up and Faded Blue Jeans" "Kern River" "Amber Waves of Grain" "American Waltz" "I Had a Beautiful Time" "A Friend in California" "Out Among the Stars" "Almost Persuaded" "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" "Chill Factor" "We Never Touch at All" "You Babe" "5:01 Blues" "A Better Love Next Time" "If You Want to Be My Woman" "Broken Friend" "When It Rains It Pours" "In My Next Life"

Collaborations

Albums

Just Between the Two of Us (with Bonnie Owens) A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones) Pancho & Lefty (with Willie Nelson) Heart to Heart (with Leona Williams) Walking the Line (with George Jones and Willie Nelson) Seashores of Old Mexico (with Willie Nelson) Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again (with George Jones) Last of the Breed (with Willie Nelson and Ray Price) Django & Jimmie (with Willie Nelson)

Singles

"Just Between the Two of Us" (with Bonnie Owens) "The Bull and the Beaver" with Leona Williams "Bar Room Buddies" (with Clint Eastwood) "Yesterday's Wine" (with George Jones) "C.C. Waterback" (with George Jones) "Reasons to Quit" (with Willie Nelson) "Pancho and Lefty" (with Willie Nelson) "We're Strangers Again" (with Leona Williams) "If I Could Only Fly" (with Willie Nelson) "That's the Way Love Goes" with (Jewel) "Wreck on the Highway" (with Chester Smith)

Guest appearances

"Street Singer" (by The Strangers)
"Willie" (by Hank Cochran)
"Walking the Floor Over You" (by Ernest Tubb)
"I Can't Hold Myself in Line" (by Johnny Paycheck)
"Lefty" (by David Frizzell)
"Same Old Train" (from Tribute to Tradition)
"Politically Uncorrect" (by Gretchen Wilson)
"I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" (by Hank Williams, Jr.)

Compilations

The Best of Merle Haggard
Close-Up
The Best of the Best of Merle Haggard
Songs I'll Always Sing
Eleven Winners
The Way It Was in '51
Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
His Best
His Greatest and His Best
The Lonesome Fugitive
Untamed Hawk
Vintage Collections
Down Every Road 1962–1994
Yesterday's Wine 1981-1988
A&E Biography
16 Biggest Hits
For the Record: 43 Legendary Hits
Merle Haggard's Train Whistle Blues
20 Greatest Hits
David Allan Coe Presents
40 #1 Hits
The Essential Merle Haggard: The Epic Years
Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard

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