Pop Culture
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On Oct. 10, 1969, Merle Haggard recorded the live album Okie From Muskogee at the Muskogee Civic Assembly Center. The concert grew out of the song "Okie from Muskogee," released Sept. 29, 1969, and co-written by Haggard and Eddie Burris after they began joking around when they saw a highway sign for Muskogee. Interpreted both as leftist satire and as right-wing patriotic fervor, the song reflected social divides in the U.S. during the late 1960s. It reached number one on the country charts on Nov. 15, 1969, inspired ironic counterculture covers by the Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, and Flaming Lips, and earned Haggard many music industry awards.
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Muskogee, Oklahoma · United States
