Merle Haggard is fresh as a breath of country air

During the course of his long career, Merle Haggard has racked up 38 No. 1 country hits, sung with George, Dolly and Willie, toured with Bob (Dylan, that is), entered the Country Music Hall of Fame, recorded with Toby Keith and publicly defended the Dixie Chicks.

The legendary singer songwriter, now 72, easily could have called it a day on his career after undergoing lung cancer surgery last year. Instead, Haggard hit the stage two months later at Bakersfield's Crystal Palace, the dinner club and country- music museum built by that other famous singer from Bakersfield, the late Buck Owens.

Haggard doesn't buckle under. A fighting spirit informs most of his songs, whether his protagonists are battling their others' perceptions of them ("Branded Man"), the powers that want to oppress a blue- collar dreamer ("Big City") or a nation changing too quickly ("Are the Good Times Really Over").

Engaged and informed, Haggard occasionally communicates with fans via "Hag Editorials" on his Web site, merlehaggard.com. Just before President Barack Obama's inauguration, Haggard posted lyrics to a new song called "Hopes Are High" ("'Cause there's a new day and a brighter day/With a new song to sing along").

This, from the author of "Okie From Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side of Me," Vietnam-era conservative anthems that took on squirrelly longhairs and war protesters.

Haggard never could be pigeonholed. As a young man who had resided in, rather than simply performed at, San Quentin, Haggard looked the part of rabble-rouser itching for a fight or another drink. That is, until he stepped up to a microphone to reveal an emotive baritone inflected by the soft cadences his parents had brought with them from Oklahoma to Oildale, the hardscrabble Bakersfield suburb where Haggard grew up.

Now Haggard's an older man who could tell you a thing or two about life. But he prefers a humorous approach – on stage and during a telephone interview from his home near Redding.

Punctuating responses with a boisterous laugh, Haggard is affable throughout, interrupting the interview only to shoo the family's toy fox terrier ("She's the prettiest thing you've ever seen," Haggard brags about the dog) and say hello to Sacramento on behalf of his wife, Theresa Lane Haggard, who grew up in Elk Grove.

Theresa will sing harmonies during Haggard's concert Monday night at Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center. The couple's 17-year-old son, Benion, backs his father on lead guitar, and Noel Haggard, who is Haggard's son from his first marriage (there have been five altogether), is one of the opening acts.

Q: First off, how are feeling these days? Have you recovered well from the surgery?

A: I'm doing well. … I was real lucky. It was a tumor that was suspended from the upper lobe of my right lung, and it wasn't touching the wall or anything ... so I didn't have to do chemo or any other therapy.

Q: Did the surgery slow you down?

A: Yeah, it was a serious deal. … It was a miracle, the way they did it. They didn't even put sutures in me. Just a glue thing. … It's only been 10 months, and I am 95 percent back.

Q: You performed again almost immediately …

A: I went back and did a performance two months after the surgery, just so the public knew I was determined to get back. And believe it or not, (singing) is a little easier than it was before the surgery because I don't have that obstruction.

Q: Did the experience affect your outlook on life?

A: Well, you know, I get to thinking, well, if I hadn't had a little checkup – and I don't like checkups (laughs) – if I had not done that, I probably would be dead right now. So I gotta be happy about that.

Q: When you do a show, how do you choose what songs to play? Your catalog is so vast.

A: I don't worry about it. We do sort of a "Tonight Show"-show type format. We've got this material, and we've got current events to talk about and be funny about. Usually, whatever is in the news media that week is usually the funniest (material) you can find. (laughs)