Merle Haggard Steps Off Peter Wolf's Wall of Influences & Onto New Wolf LP. Here is the story: One glance around Peter Wolf's Boston home and you'll immediately notice his massive "Wall Of Influences," as he refers to a wall of vinyl records. Says Wolf, "This ain't a record collection. It's just the stuff I love." The list ranges wildly. Wolf pulls out a record and introduces it. "Chicago Blues, 1950s, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters, Little Walter," he says. "You can't go wrong with this stuff." Then he finds a Little Richard album. "I remember the day I first saw him and Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis."
His eyes light up when he comes upon the Merle Haggard section, saying, "Every album of Merle's is so good. He just encompasses all of the great parts of country music and American music, right from the beginning and he's still going strong. Recording with Merle is a dream come true for me."
Haggard joins Wolf for the album-closing country ballad "It's Too Late For Me," one of the highlights of Wolf's new album 'Midnight Souvenirs,' due out April 6 on Verve/UMe, his first in eight years.
Wolf remembers, "Haggard also turned me on to Lefty Frizzell. This is so good you could use it as a pillow," he says before spinning and finding another LP on the wall...
