“I was a bus driver in Las Vegas and a swinger’s convention was my first bus gig. I wasn’t always the choirboy I am today. I was kicked out of high school when my buddy and I locked the principal in the tennis court. There wasn’t anything else to do. I was shipped off to a vocational school. I farmed, worked on the railroad and in construction. I worked on hog farms and dairy farms. I was making $3 an hour and in the ’70s that wasn’t bad money. It was enough to party on. When I was 22 or 23 I was managing a company and had two cars, two trucks, a motorcycle and a house and I was miserable. I went to Colorado to learn how to be a cowboy and play music. I sold everything I had but a truck, guitar, a shotgun, and a couple of songbooks. I was hired by a local outfitter for pack trips in the Rockies. At night I played guitar and entertained them the best I could. I left there and went to Nashville and made three albums on my own label. I released a new album a few months ago. I am a Haggard junkie. I like to see someone get up there with one note and put goosebumps on you. I love playing music for people.”