Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame Unveils Statue Of Merle Haggard, Celebrating His Legacy

Downtown Muskogee has a new statue in front of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

The group unveiled a new bronze statue of Merle Haggard outside of the Civic Center, where he recorded "Okie From Muskogee" 55 years ago on Oct. 10.

The statue is also in view of "Old Glory Waving Down at The Courthouse", one of the lyrics in the song.

The Hall of Fame says even though Haggard wasn't from Oklahoma, he was still their first inductee because of the impact he had on Muskogee and our state.

"Okie From Muskogee put this little town on the map. And he was pretty proud of this song and we're pretty proud of him for doing that song," said Tony Corbell, executive producer of Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Haggard passed away in 2016, but his children Ben and Noel accepted the honor on his behalf.

They also headlined a concert celebrating the statue on Thursday night.