As many of you know, Merle Haggard just passed away this past Wednesday, April 6, 2016. He may be gone but he'll never be forgotten, and to make sure of that you need to read through the 10 things you need to know about Merle. His music will live on forever, but this article depicts the man behind the music.

10. He kicked cancer's ass.

Merle battled lung cancer without telling anyone until he had a lemon sized tumor removed from his upper right lobe of his lung. He quit smoking and said he had never felt more healthy before.

9. He recorded over 1000 songs.

Merle had such a colorful life, he just couldn't stop writing songs about it. Whether it be a love song or a song about prison, they're all true and they're all good.

8. He turned his life around because of a conversation with a man on death row.

Merle got put in isolation while in San Quentin and met a man named Caryl Chessman. Chessman was on death row and convinced Merle that the life he was living wasn't going to do him any good. At his next parole hearing, Merle was given two years and three months more at San Quentin and two years and three months of parole following. He completely flipped his life around after he was released only three months later.

7. He escaped jail 17 times.

Merle was a very rebellious child, as "Mama Tried" depicts. He ran away at the very young age of 14 with his friend, Bob Teague, for the first time. After that he ran to escape juvenile detention, warrants, and then even prison. He planned to escape San Quentin too if his prison buddies wouldn't have convinced him he had such hope in country music.

6. He saw Johnny Cash as an inmate in San Quentin.

When Merle was only 20 years old, Johnny Cash performed at San Quentin. Watching Cash "chewing gum and flipping the bird to the guards," Merle wanted to be just like him one day. He knew he could get out of prison and pursue a country music career, and that's what he did. He played local bars until he had enough money to quit his day job and just devote his life to music.

5. He was pardoned by Ronald Reagan.

For years, Merle tried to get his record cleared. He wanted a clean slate as stated in "Branded Man," but he had given up hope. Years later, Ronald Reagan, the governor of California at the time, granted his wish. 10 years later, Merle performed for Reagan when he was president and thanked him greatly and said he hoped his performance brought the president as much joy as the pardon brought Merle.

4. He was born in a box car.

Merle's parents moved from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression where his dad worked on the railroad. In desperation to have a house his dad converted a box car into a home. A couple months later Merle was born in that converted box car.

3. And then he lived in said box car with his wife and kids.

After Merle got out of prison and decided to turn his life around, he moved in with his wife and kids. The easiest place to do so was where he started his life, so they moved back into the box car Merle's dad had converted.

2. He could do perfect country music impersonations.

Merle could not only do the perfect voices of people such as Buck Owens and Johnny Cash but he could do perfect facial expressions as well.

1. He had 38 number one singles. You read right. 38!

That's some serious talent.