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Members
4 Male
Origin
Bakersfield, California, USA
Genre
Country
Style
Country
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Born
4 MaleOrigin
Bakersfield, California, USAGenre
CountryStyle
CountryMood
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Born
1965
Active
1965 to Present...
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Alternate Name
Merle Haggard & The Strangers
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The Strangers are an American country band that formed in 1965 in Bakersfield, California. They mainly served as the backup band for singer-songwriter Merle Haggard. However, from 1969 to 1973, they issued several records independent of Haggard, released on Capitol Records. Merle Haggard named the band after his first hit single "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers". The Strangers were voted touring band of the year by the Academy of Country Music eight times. The band continues to tour with longtime member Norman Hamlet, as well as Haggard's children Ben and Noel Haggard.
History
Lead guitarist Roy Nichols (October 21, 1932 - July 3, 2001) was from Chandler, Arizona, and had previously played with the Maddox Brothers and Rose, Lefty Frizzell, Wynn Stewart, and Johnny Cash before playing with the Strangers from 1965 until 1987, when health problems forced him into retirement. Duncan, Oklahoma-born steel guitarist Ralph Mooney (September 16, 1928 - March 20, 2011) had previously played with Wynn Stewart and written the song "Crazy Arms", and after leaving the Strangers recorded a duo album with James Burton and then joined Waylon Jennings band.
Norm Hamlet (born February 27, 1935 in Woodville, California) joined the Strangers on steel guitar in 1967 and, shortly afterward, became its bandleader. Howard "Jerry Ward" Lowe was the Strangers original bass player and George French (March 6, 1926 - August 14, 1992) played the piano. But when Ward left, Gene Price (February 27, 1944 - August 13, 2013) from Shamrock, Texas replaced him on bass just in time for the Okie from Muskogee album in 1969, on which he also sang lead vocals. Tulsa, Oklahoma-born Eddie Burris (October 27, 1931 - April 19, 2011), the drummer for the Strangers, co-wrote the title track "Okie From Muskogee" with Merle Haggard. Biff Adam (born April 19, 1936 in Reading, Pennsylvania) replaced Burris as the Strangers drummer in 1970 and also served as Merle’s publicist and bus driver. On the album, The Fightin' Side of Me, the Strangers added rhythm guitarist Robert "Bobby Wayne" Edrington (December 11, 1941 - September 21, 2009) from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and they got their own showcase on the instrumental "Stealin’ Corn". A second rhythm guitarist, Marcia Nichols (May 23, 1950 - October 1976), also joined the band
Gordon Terry, fiddle player for the Strangers.
After Bobby Wayne and Marcia Nichols left, Ronnie Reno (born September 28, 1947 in Buffalo, South Carolina) of Reno and Smiley and the Osborne Brothers joined the Strangers on rhythm guitar, and he also produced Merle's duo album with Mac Wiseman as well as Merle’s The Bluegrass Sessions. Ronnie would also sing lead vocals on albums like Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album. Gaffney, South Carolina-born Johnny Meeks (April 16, 1937 - July 30, 2015), previously a member of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, the Champs, and Michael Nesmith and the Second National Band, played bass with the Strangers in the early 1970s and later got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After Meeks left, Jimmy Tittle (born December 1, 1956) played bass with the band. After leaving the Strangers, Tittle would go on to play with his father-in-law Johnny Cash.
Bakersfield, California-born saxophonist Don Markham (November 28, 1931 - February 24, 2017), who had played with Sly & the Family Stone, the Ventures, the Bakersfield Brass, and Johnny Paycheck played with the Strangers from 1974 to 2013. In the mid-1970s, former Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys guitarist Eldon Shamblin (April 24, 1916 - August 5, 1998), who was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, was invited to join the Strangers. After retiring from the Strangers, Eldon Shamblin would continue to perform with them whenever they played in Tulsa. Electric mandolinist Billie "Tiny" Moore (May 12, 1920 - December 15, 1987) from Port Arthur, Texas also joined the Strangers during the 1970s. Like Eldon Shamblin, Tiny Moore had also been a member of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
In the late 1970s Decatur, Alabama-born Gordon Terry (October 7, 1931 - April 9, 2006) joined the Strangers on fiddle. Terry had previously played with Bill Monroe, Faron Young, and Johnny Cash. After Gordon Terry left the band, fiddler Jimmy Belken (May 25, 1931 - August 19, 2000) joined the Strangers. Born in Dallas, Texas, Belken had previously played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys as well as Mel Tillis and the Statesiders. In addition to serving as Strangers bassist, Dennis Hromek (born November 12, 1940) would also sing some lead vocals at Strangers shows. When Hromek left Bobby Wayne returned to the Strangers, this time playing bass. Other noteworthy members of the band included bassist Sherman "Wayne" Durham (July 8, 1947 - April 13, 2016), Princeton, Illinois-born trumpet player Gary Church (March 26, 1951 - June 22, 2018), and keyboardist Mark Yeary (born in 1952 in Los Angeles, California), who also served as Merle’s co-producer on his records. Clint Strong (born in 1966), who had studied under Stan Kenton, joined the Strangers on lead guitar during the mid-1980s.
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