Merle Haggard Post Office coming to Bakersfield

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to rename a Bakersfield post office for singer Merle Haggard, who died in 2016.

The vote was unanimous, reports the Los Angeles Times. The legislation now goes to the Senate for approval and then to President Donald Trump to be signed.

The bill to rename the 1730 18th St. building was introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, the house majority leader, reports Bakersfield Now.

“For a man who went from Bakersfield High to San Quentin prison to the Country Music Hall of Fame, a building doesn’t seem like much,” McCarthy said. “But I hope that when people pass by the Merle Haggard Post Office Building in downtown Bakersfield, they will remember an icon of our community, an artist who never backed down, a man whose honesty about his own failings and willingness to pick himself back up inspired music that lifts our spirits and feeds our souls.”

Haggard, who won fame with such songs as “Okie From Muskogee” and “Mama Tried,” died April 6, 2016, at age 79.

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 6:40 AM with the headline "Merle Haggard Post Office coming to Bakersfield."