"I’m proud to be a Bakersfield boy," Noel announces flatly. "That West Coast, California-style of country was the opposite of what Nashville was doing at the time…and it got to me! It wasn’t polished. It wasn’t really a rehearsed thing, which makes it hard to explain.

Though Noel Haggard left Bakersfield at age 14, that country music mecca’s essence permeated his soul. Growing up the youngest son of Merle Haggard and his first wife, the freewheeling honky tonk spirit and beauty of the Kern River defined Noel’s outlook on both the world and music.

"Raw is a good word for it. To me, that’s what traditional country music is: raw. It’s honky tonk and, of course, cheating. It’s smoke-filled bars, neon, booze and love."

With his debut album One Lifetime, Noel Haggard began embracing his birthright. Produced by Muscle Shoals legend Barry Beckett, One Lifetime explores love’s possibilities, shortfalls, pains and regrets - and it does so with the same natural phrasing and richly sonorous baritone that one would expect from someone with such a loaded last name.

There’s much yearning in country music – and Noel’s Atlantic debut is steeped in that sense of jagged desire. Whether it’s the classic verbal turnaround of profiting from another’s indifference in "The Palm of My Hand" or the rousing two-stepper "Left, Leavin’, Goin’ or Gone", Noel Haggard unsheathes an emotional core that’s both strong and vulnerable.

Growing up the son of a man who has defined country’s possibilities, Noel Haggard has enough life experiences to more than completely inhabit the things he sings about. And it’s in being the son of a legend that Noel came to realize how important it is to seek his own path.

From the beginning, Noel Haggard’s life has been different. Raised by his Grandmother Flossie in Oildale, California, he lived in the same boxcar his father grew up in.

"Grandma shaved our heads, put us in bow ties, took us to church on Sunday, taught us right from wrong, tried to make us believe in the things she did.

When Merle married Bonnie Owens, the family reunited. As the children were growing up, they were exposed to some of the most amazing music of the time. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys dropped by to pick. Glen Campbell visited to go hunting. And there was no shortage of first-rate players hanging in the musically charged environment.

"I started messing with music when I was 13. My first guitar came from Merle – it was a Martin Triple O, 45-D Jimmie Rodgers style. There were only 150 made, and it had my name in it in abalone. He gave it to me for my 14th birthday party. He wanted me to quit playing his!"

Noel learned his father’s songs, made a few futile attempts at education and eventually fell in with a group of players who were also looking to find their place in the world.

The band played for beer and tips. It wasn’t really much, but I remember thinking this is good. This is what I want to do.’ After all those years of watching my Dad from the side of the stage, I knew what it felt like – and it was an addiction I wanted to feed."

Eventually the band, failing to go anywhere, broke up. Noel joined his father’s band and graduated to opening Merle’s shows.

"We were in Wendover, Nevada on my 29th birthday," Haggard says of his decision to strike out after destiny. "I’d just finished playing a show with my Dad, and he said, ‘You ready to head home?’ I said, ‘Actually I think I’m gonna take a shot at Nashville.’

Noel hitched a ride to Music City in the back of a van hauling t-shirts, often sleeping on the boxes over the 2-½ day ride. The sandy-haired singer was determined to chase his dream.

"I got there by want to," he now laughs. "I was gonna get there one way or another."

Though it’s easy to dismiss him as a child of privilege, Noel Haggard never leaned on his father’s name to get ahead. Fiercely proud of his heritage, he wants to be accepted on his own merits – often working construction jobs to pay his bills when there weren’t enough gigs to make ends meet.

"It’s a blessing and a curse," he says of his last name. "I’m so proud to be his son. I don’t think there will ever be anyone else like my Dad.

"There are people who will give you a shot because of your name, but they also expect bigger things of you musically. You better do something when you’re up there, or they write you off.

"Of course," he adds after a contemplative pause, "it’s always been this way. So, it’s not like I know any different."

It wasn’t until he struck out on his own that things fell into place. After arriving in Nashville, he met manager Estill Sowers, who discovered John Michael Montgomery and the wheels began turning. A deal with Atlantic was forthcoming – and an album cut.

Atlantic head Rick Blackburn, a shrew music man who’d defined the ‘70s and ‘80s success of George Jones, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Paycheck and Ricky Skaggs, recognized a bona fide traditionalist in the young Haggard. With Atlantic behind him, Noel released his debut album One Lifetime.

Between albums and backbreaking construction jobs, Noel decided it was time to make his next move and once again turn back to his roots of country music. He realized it was time to head to the place where traditional country music is still respected – Noel recently moved to Texas.

Currently he is touring and gathering new material for an upcoming release on Hag Records label.

Noel Haggard inherited the family gift. His roots extend deep and strong – and his reach has yet to be defined