I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am

1968 single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"

Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

from the album Pride in What I Am

B-side

"Keep Me from Crying Today"

Released

October 14, 1968

Genre

Country

Length

2:47

Label

Capitol

Songwriter(s)

Merle Haggard

Producer(s)

Ken Nelson

Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology

"Mama Tried"
(1968)

"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"
(1968)

"Hungry Eyes"
(1969)

"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album Pride in What I Am. The song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.^[1] It reached number-one on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks in January 1969. The song was covered by Dean Martin and released as a single in mid-1969. A tape recorder version of this song was played at the funeral of late Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant.

Personnel

Merle Haggard– vocals, guitar

The Strangers:

Roy Nichols – guitar, harmonica
Norman Hamlet – steel guitar
George French – piano
Jerry Ward – bass
Eddie Burris – drums

Chart performance

Merle Haggard

Chart (1968–1969)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[2]	3
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Dean Martin

Chart (1969)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100^[3]	75
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[4]	15
Canadian RPM Top Singles	62
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary	3

Jerry Butler

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	86

References

^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 146.
^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Dean Martin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Dean Martin Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.

Merle Haggard

The Strangers

Norm Hamlet

Ralph Mooney

Tiny Moore

Roy Nichols

Gene Price

Eldon Shamblin

Gordon Terry

Biff Adam

Jimmy Belken

Eddie Burris

Gary Church

Wayne Durham

George French

Dennis Hromek

Don Markham

Johnny Meeks

Marcia Nichols

Ronnie Reno

Clint Strong

Jim Tittle

Jerry Ward

Bobby Wayne

Mark Yeary

Studio albums

Strangers
Swinging Doors ‡
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive ‡
Branded Man ‡
Sing Me Back Home ‡
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde ‡
Mama Tried ‡
Pride in What I Am ‡
Same Train, a Different Time ‡
A Portrait of Merle Haggard ‡
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ‡
Hag ‡
Someday We'll Look Back ‡
Let Me Tell You About a Song ‡
It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) ‡
If We Make It Through December ‡
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album ‡
Keep Movin' On ‡
It's All in the Movies ‡
My Love Affair with Trains ‡
The Roots of My Raising ‡
Ramblin' Fever
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today ‡
My Farewell to Elvis
I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
Serving 190 Proof
The Way I Am
Back to the Barrooms
Big City
Going Where the Lonely Go
That's the Way Love Goes
It's All in the Game
Kern River
Out Among the Stars
A Friend in California
Chill Factor
5:01 Blues
Blue Jungle
1994
1996
If I Could Only Fly
Roots, Volume 1
The Peer Sessions
Haggard Like Never Before
Unforgettable
Chicago Wind
The Bluegrass Sessions
I Am What I Am
Working in Tennessee

Compilations

Songs I'll Always Sing
Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
Down Every Road 1962–1994
16 Biggest Hits
Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard

Live albums

Okie from Muskogee ‡
The Fightin' Side of Me ‡
I Love Dixie Blues ‡
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
Amber Waves of Grain

Gospel albums

The Land of Many Churches ‡
Songs for the Mama That Tried
Cabin in the Hills
Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)

Holiday albums

Singles

1960s	"Sing a Sad Song" "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" "Swinging Doors" ‡ "The Bottle Let Me Down" ‡ "The Fugitive" ‡ "I Threw Away the Rose" ‡ "Branded Man" ‡ "Sing Me Back Home" ‡ "The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde" ‡ "Mama Tried" ‡ "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" ‡ "Hungry Eyes" ‡ "Workin' Man Blues" ‡ "Okie from Muskogee" ‡
1970s	"The Fightin' Side of Me" ‡ "Jesus, Take a Hold" ‡ "I Can't Be Myself" ‡ "Soldier's Last Letter" ‡ "Someday We'll Look Back" ‡ "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" ‡ "Carolyn" ‡ "Grandma Harp" ‡ "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" ‡ "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" ‡ "The Emptiest Arms in the World" ‡ "Everybody's Had the Blues" ‡ "If We Make It Through December ‡" "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" ‡ "Old Man from the Mountain" ‡ "Kentucky Gambler" ‡ "Always Wanting You" ‡ "Movin' On" ‡ "It's All in the Movies" ‡ "The Roots of My Raising" ‡ "Here Comes the Freedom Train" ‡ "Cherokee Maiden" ‡ "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday" "Ramblin' Fever" "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today" ‡ "From Graceland to the Promised Land" "Running Kind" ‡ "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall" "It's Been a Great Afternoon" "Red Bandana" "My Own Kind of Hat"
1980s	"The Way I Am" "Misery and Gin" "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" "Leonard" "Rainbow Stew" "My Favorite Memory" "Big City" "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" "Going Where the Lonely Go" "You Take Me for Granted" "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)" "It's All in the Game" "That's the Way Love Goes" "Someday When Things Are Good" "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room" "A Place to Fall Apart" "Kern River" "I Had a Beautiful Time" "A Friend in California" "Almost Persuaded" "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" "Chill Factor" "We Never Touch at All" "You Babe" "5:01 Blues" "A Better Love Next Time" "If You Want to Be My Woman"

Collaborations

Albums	Just Between the Two of Us (with Bonnie Owens and The Strangers) A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones) Pancho & Lefty (with Willie Nelson) Heart to Heart (with Leona Williams) Walking the Line (with George Jones and Willie Nelson) Seashores of Old Mexico (with Willie Nelson) Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again (with George Jones) Last of the Breed (with Willie Nelson and Ray Price) Django & Jimmie (with Willie Nelson)
Singles	"Bar Room Buddies" (with Clint Eastwood) "Yesterday's Wine" (with George Jones) "C.C. Waterback" (with George Jones) "Reasons to Quit" (with Willie Nelson) "Pancho and Lefty" (with Willie Nelson) "Wreck on the Highway" (with Chester Smith)
As guest	"Street Singer" (by The Strangers) "Walking the Floor Over You" (by Ernest Tubb) "Politically Uncorrect" (by Gretchen Wilson)

‡ indicates a release performed with The Strangers

v t e Dean Martin
Discography
Studio albums	Dean Martin Sings (Dean Martin's first studio album) Swingin' Down Yonder Pretty Baby Sleep Warm A Winter Romance This Time I'm Swingin'! Dino: Italian Love Songs French Style Cha Cha de Amor Dino Latino Dean "Tex" Martin: Country Style Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (a set of 4 albums, including 3 albums with Dean) Robin and the 7 Hoods Dream with Dean The Door Is Still Open to My Heart Dean Martin Hits Again (Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You Houston Somewhere There's a Someone Dean Martin Sings Songs from The Silencers The Hit Sound of Dean Martin The Dean Martin Christmas Album The Dean Martin TV Show Happiness Is Dean Martin Welcome to My World Gentle on My Mind I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am My Woman, My Woman, My Wife For the Good Times Dino Sittin' on Top of the World You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me Once in a While The Nashville Sessions (Martin's final recording sessions)
Posthumous albums	Dino: The Essential Dean Martin Live from Las Vegas Forever Cool
Compilation albums	Everybody Loves Somebody Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine The Best of Dean Martin
Singles	"A Million and One" "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" "Arrivederci Roma" "Angel Baby" "Baby, It's Cold Outside" "Come Running Back" "Detroit City" "Everybody Loves Somebody" "Gentle on My Mind" "Houston" "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" "I Will" "If" "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" "In the Misty Moonlight" "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" "Innamorata" "June in January" "Just in Time" "King of the Road" "Lay Some Happiness on Me" "Let Me Go, Lover!" "Little Ole Wine Drinker, Me" "Mambo Italiano" "Memories Are Made of This" "Nobody's Baby Again" "On an Evening in Roma" "(Open Up the Door) Let the Good Times In" "Powder Your Face with Sunshine (Smile, Smile, Smile)" "(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You" "Return to Me" "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" "She's a Little Bit Country" "Somewhere There's a Someone" "Standing on the Corner" "Sway" "That's Amore" "The Door Is Still Open to My Heart" "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" "Under the Bridges of Paris" "Volare" "You Belong to Me" "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" "You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" "Young and Foolish" "Not Enough Indians" "Gentle on My Mind"
Related	Martin and Lewis Rat Pack Deana Martin (daughter) Dean Paul Martin (son) Ricci Martin (son) The Rat Pack (1998 film) Martin and Lewis (2002 film) The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis