RadioCPRThe death of Merle Haggard this week necessitated close listening to his output — and he put out a lot.

Not only did he have a great, expressive voice, the tracks also show how versatile his musical approach was and the depth of his songwriting. Because the songs are mostly short, we could fit a lot of them in, capping them with Joe Ely, Marshall Crenshaw and Iris Dement doing Merle covers, as well as Pure Prairie League doing their song about Merle.

Played some of the songs Jonathan Richman did when he played town this week and none of the ones Ry Cooder did when he was here (his performing material hasn’t been recorded yet). Belinda Carlisle was in town tonight too, so closed with a few from her, in one of the weirdest transitions yet.

Here’s what I played on the radio tonight:

Friday Night Rock, 4-8-2016, 9:30 p.m. – 1 a.m., Radio CPR 101.7 FM, Washington, D.C.

  • “Sing a Sad Song,” Merle Haggard
  • “Branded Man,” Merle Haggard
  • “Mama Tried,” Merle Haggard
  • “Silver Wings,” Merle Haggard
  • “White Line Fever,” Merle Haggard
  • “Someday We’ll Look Back,” Merle Haggard
  • “It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad),” Merle Haggard
  • “Sam Hill,” Merle Haggard
  • “Skid Row,” Merle Haggard
  • “Just Between the Two of Us,” Merle Haggard
  • “I’m Gonna Break Every Heart I Can,” Merle Haggard
  • “Swinging Doors,” Merle Haggard
  • “The Bottle Let Me Down,” Merle Haggard
  • “High on the Hilltop,” Merle Haggard
  • “The Fugitive,” Merle Haggard
  • “All of Me Belongs to You,” Merle Haggard
  • “Someone Told My Story,” Merle Haggard
  • “Whatever Happened to Me,” Merle Haggard
  • “Sing Me Back Home,” Merle Haggard
  • “Seeing Eye Dog,” Merle Haggard
  • “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde,” Merle Haggard
  • “I Started Loving You Again,” Merle Haggard
  • “In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad),” Merle Haggard
  • “I’ll Always Know,” Merle Haggard
  • “I’m Looking for My Mind,” Merle Haggard
  • “California Blues (Blue Yodel #4),” Merle Haggard
  • “I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am,” Merle Haggard
  • “I’m Bringing’ Home Good News,” Merle Haggard
  • “Hungry Eyes,” Merle Haggard
  • “Working’ Man Blues,” Merle Haggard
  • “Okie From Muskogee,” Merle Haggard
  • “The Fightin’ Side of Me,” Merle Haggard
  • “I’ll Be a Hero (When I Strike),” Merle Haggard
  • “Right or Wrong,” Merle Haggard
  • “Stay a Little Longer,” Merle Haggard“Tulare Dust,” Merle Haggard
  • “Carolyn,” Merle Haggard
  • “Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man),” Merle Haggard
  • “Things Aren’t Funny Anymore,” Merle Haggard
  • “Honky Tonk Nighttime Man, Merle Haggard
  • “Holding Things Together,” Merle Haggard
  • “Here in Frisco,” Merle Haggard
  • “Kentucky Gambler,” Merle Haggard
  • “If We’re Not Back in Love By Monday,” Merle Haggard
  • “Misery and Gin,” Merle Haggard
  • “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” Merle Haggard
  • “Big City,” Merle Haggard
  • “Are the Good Times Really Over,” Merle Haggard
  • “Pancho and Lefty,” Merle Haggard
  • “Kern River,” Merle Haggard
  • “White Line Fever,” Joe Ely
  • “Silver Wings,” Marshall Crenshaw
  • “Big City,” Iris DeMent
  • “I’ll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle,” Pure Prairie League
  • “The World is Showing Its Hand,” Jonathan Richman
  • “My Baby Love Love Loves Me,” Jonathan Richman
  • “These Bodies That Came to Cavort,” Jonathan Richman
  • “I Was Dancing in a Lesbian Bar,” Jonathan Richman
  • “That Summer Feeling,”  Jonathan Richman
  • “No One Was Like Vermeer,” Jonathan Richman
  • “As My Mother Lay Dying,” Jonathan Richman
  • “Dancing in the Moonlight,” King Harvest
  • “Cherry Ball Blues,” Ry Cooder
  • “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer,” Ry Cooder
  • “The 90 and the 9,” Ry Cooder
  • “I Feel Free,” Belinda Carlisle
  • “Mad About You,” Belinda Carlisle
  • “Leave a Light On,” Belinda Carlisle

Friday Night Rock returns April 14 on Radio CPR, 101.7 FM, Washington, D.C., or online at www.tinyurl.com/radiocpr