Bakersfield Post Office Named for Merle Haggard

BAKERSFIELD (CBS/AP) -- About 300 people turned out in Bakersfield, California, to celebrate the naming of a post office for Merle Haggard.

The late country music legend's sister and widow were among those at a Friday ceremony near downtown honoring Haggard, who helped create the twangy "Bakersfied Sound."

The resolution to rename the post office in honor of Haggard was introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader from Bakersfield.

The event fell on the two-year anniversary of Haggard's death and what would have been his 81st birthday.

Haggard rose from poverty and prison to international fame through his songs about outlaws, underdogs and an abiding sense of national pride. His hits include "Okie From Muskogee" and "Sing Me Back Home."

Norm Hamlet, who played in Haggard's band for nearly a half-century, told the Bakersfield Californian newspaper that the singer would've been humbled by the honor.

© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report