Texas, Belken had previously played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys as well as Mel Tillis and the Statesiders. In addition to serving as Strangers bassist, Dennis Hromek (born November 12, 1940) would also sing some lead vocals at Strangers shows. When Hromek left Bobby Wayne returned to the Strangers, this time playing bass. Other noteworthy members of the band included Princeton, Illinois-born trumpet player Gary Church (March 26, 1951 - June 22, 2018), and Los Angeles, California-born keyboardist Mark Yeary (1952 - January 17, 2020), who also served as Merle's co-producer on his records. Clint Strong (born in 1966), who had studied under Stan Kenton, joined the Strangers on lead guitar during the mid-1980s. Sheril Rodgers (born in 1953), co-wrote with Merle and singer/songwriter Freddy Powers. Sheril toured with the Strangers as backup singer from 1983-1984 and co-wrote "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room Tonight". Discography Albums credited to the Strangers {| class="wikitable" |- ! Released ! Album ! US Country ! Label |- | February 23, 1969 | The Instrumental Sounds of Merle Haggard's Strangers | style="text-align:center;"| 36 | rowspan="12"| Capitol Records |- | April 6, 1970 | Introducing My Friends the Strangers | style="text-align:center;"| 34 |- | October 5, 1970 | Getting to Know Merle Haggard's Strangers | style="text-align:center;"| 44 |- | June 21, 1971 | Honky Tonkin''' | style="text-align:center;"| 34 |- | May 1, 1973 | Totally Instrumental...With One Exception| style="text-align:center;"| 23 |} Singles credited to the Strangers Albums credited to Merle Haggard and the Strangers Singles credited to Merle Haggard and the Strangers Albums credited to Bonnie Owens and the Strangers Singles credited to Bonnie Owens and the Strangers Albums credited to Leona Williams and the Strangers The Strangers as Backing Band Contribution to Merle Haggard Albums Songwriting Production Lead Vocal Liner Notes Merle Call-Outs Merle Haggard famously called out members of the Strangers by name on his records prior to their solos. He sometimes prefixed their name with “Brother,” as in the song "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" when he called out “Brother Don” Markham. For 20 years (1969 – 1989) he regularly called out 16 different members of the Strangers and 14 guest musicians on 70 songs on 31 different albums. Roy Nichols received the most call-outs (42), followed by Norm Hamlet (24), Tiny Moore (13), Mark Yeary (10), and Don Markham (9). Below is a list of