The 1967 album "Branded Man" with The Strangers kicked off an artistically and commercially successful run for Haggard. In 2013, Haggard biographer David Cantwell stated, "The immediate successors to "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive"—"Branded Man" in 1967 and, in '68, "Sing Me Back Home" and "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde"—were among the finest albums of their respective years." Haggard's new recordings showcased his band The Strangers, specifically Roy Nichols's Telecaster, Ralph Mooney's steel guitar, and the harmony vocals provided by Bonnie Owens.