Read Tom Waits' Moving Poetic Tribute to Merle Haggard

Growing up around San Diego, California, Tom Waits was drawn to the far-away sounds of the Delta blues, Motown, Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra. But another artist from closer to home also made a mark on the singer-songwriter: Merle Haggard, who passed away on April 6th, his 79th birthday, due to complications from pneumonia. In the exclusive tribute below, which will be included in Rolling Stone's Haggard cover story package, Waits remembers the impact the country great had on his early years and looks back on Haggard's legacy.