What connection did Leonard Raymond Sipes have will Merle Haggard?!
Question: And what song did Merle do about him?
Answers: And what song did Merle do about him?
Leonard Sipes (aka Tommy Collins) was a country music songwriter, guitar player and pastor whose work was recorded and became hits for Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, George Strait, Ferlin Husky and others.
Sipes helped to shape the "Bakersfield sound" of country music. He also sang and recorded, enjoying 5 top 10 hits between 1954 and 1966.
He wrote a total of 22 songs for Merle Haggard. Haggard recorded his first Sipes' song, "Sam Hill," in 1964. Haggard then recorded hits by Sipes such as "Carolyn," "The Roots of My Raising," "Goodbye Comes Hard For Me," "The Man Who Picked The Wildwood Flower," and When Did Right Become Wrong."
Unfortinately, by the early 1970s, his career was collapsing due to abusive use of drugs and alcohol; but he was able to recover.
In 1981, as a tribute to Leonard Sipes, Haggard wrote the beautiful, haunting song titled "Lenoard."
The song he did about him was called "LEONARD" It's a great song! I can't think of Leonard's country song name but I know the words to the song
When Leonard finally came to California
He was 21 years old as I recall,
But he loved to write a song and pick the guitar,
And he came to hang a gold one on the wall!
You can look it up! I know that he helped Merle get started when times were rough! It might have been Lefty Frizzell but that doesn't sound right