John Anderson wrote or co-wrote twelve of the thirteen songs on the 2015 album Goldmine. The exception had a story John Anderson would remember as one of the highlights of a long career.
Merle Haggard had written it especially for John Anderson. And when the time came to share it, Merle Haggard pulled the lyrics from a back pocket and asked for a guitar.
A friendship that began with admiration
Long before that exchange, Merle Haggard’s music had helped draw a young John Anderson toward country. Growing up in Florida, John Anderson played in garage bands, but hearing Merle Haggard and George Jones helped point John Anderson toward Nashville.
By 1980, admiration had become an opportunity. Merle Haggard invited John Anderson to open a series of concerts. During the first weekend, Merle Haggard welcomed the younger singer onto the tour bus and praised John Anderson’s recording of “Your Lying Blue Eyes.”
The conversation went beyond a compliment about a record. Merle Haggard wanted to know whether John Anderson truly loved country music and its traditions.
John Anderson answered that question with the career that followed: distinctive singing, original songs, and a commitment to the music that had brought John Anderson to Nashville. The two singers became friends.
A phone call with an unusual offer
Years later, Merle Haggard called about a song in progress. Recalling the conversation in a February 2016 interview with Donald Gibson for Write on Music, John Anderson repeated the explanation:
“I’m writing this song and the more I write it the more it sounds like you.”
John Anderson agreed to record it before hearing the finished song. For an artist who had grown up admiring Merle Haggard, the offer itself was enough.
About six months later, the singers saw each other again. John Anderson asked whether the song was finished. Merle Haggard smiled, took a piece of paper from a back pocket, and called for a guitar.
The lyrics were for “Magic Mama.” Merle Haggard played the song for the singer whose voice had helped shape it.
The one outside song on a personal record
“Magic Mama” became the second track on Goldmine, released May 26, 2015, through John Anderson’s own Bayou Boys Music label.
The album gave John Anderson considerable room as a songwriter. Collaborators included Josh Turner, Buddy Cannon, Jimmy Fortune, and John Rich. The material ranged from faith and gratitude to home and relationships, with John Anderson’s writing credit appearing on every selection except Merle Haggard’s contribution.
Discussing the project before its release, John Anderson explained that the intention was to take those songs into the studio and make the record according to John Anderson’s own judgment, without outside influences directing the result.
That made “Magic Mama” a fitting exception. This was an outside song written with the intended singer already in mind.
The album credits preserve the professional exchange: Merle Haggard, songwriter; John Anderson, recording artist. John Anderson’s recollection preserves something more personal—the smile, the paper from a back pocket, and the request for a guitar.
After decades of records and performances, John Anderson still counted hearing Merle Haggard play that song especially for John Anderson among the highlights of a lifetime.