who is the leonard that merle haggard sings about
Tommy Collins (singer) After several years in the ministry, Collins returned to recording. In 1965, he had a comeback hit with "If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl". In the 1970s, he wrote several hits for Merle Haggard, including the No. 1 hits "Carolyn" and "The Roots of My Raising". In 1981, Haggard recorded a biographical tribute to Collins called "Leonard".
Cuba Gooding Sr. Cuba Gooding Sr. (April 27, 1944 – April 20, 2017) was an American singer and actor. He was the most successful lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, replacing former lead singer Donald McPherson who died unexpectedly of leukemia. According to Billboard, as the lead vocalist he scored five top 10 hits most notably, "Everybody Plays the Fool" (1972), peaking at No. 2 for 3 weeks, and peaking at No. 3 on Billboard's all-genre Hot 100 list. "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (1974), "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" and "Rolling Down a Mountainside" were also top 10 hits on Billboard charts. He also recorded as a solo artists with hits of his own.[1][2]