MERLE HAGGARD PLAYS WITH SOME REAL BITE ON THIS SOLO, WITH GUEST TAMMY WYNETTE

At 1:21, Haggard plays a Tele solo worthy of the great Roy Nichols. I've seen and heard a lot of Merle Tele solos-- he always has a great feel and tone, but sometimes his execution paints him into corners he can't get out of. Getting out of corners was Roy's specialty-- and it takes a lot of practicing to learn how to do that! At any rate, this is probably the best and tightest solo I've ever heard Merle play. He's still slightly tentative compared to a top-drawer picker, but it's beautiful playing, with the twang and some tasty overdriven raunch. Years ago, Haggard had an interesting influence on Roy's playing-- supposedly at Merle's suggestion, Roy started experimenting with what I call an "unbend" lick. The pre-bent note struck and unbent became a Roy Nichols trademark.