Go backstage with The Music and receive FREE:

  • Exclusive members-only editorial, charts
  • Our subscriber-only newsletter
  • Members only competitions to win tickets, experiences and more
  • Access to our street press archives
  • First access to our exclusive limited edition vinyl variants

Thank you for being a part of our community! Enter your email address as verification and you'll be taken backstage right away.

Please ensure that you provide a valid email address.

Country Legend Merle Haggard Dies On 79th Birthday

Staff Writer

He predicted the death to his family last week

More Merle Haggard Merle Haggard

News has surfaced this morning that Californian country music multi-instrumentalist Merle Haggard has passed away at his home in California, on his 79th birthday.

As Pitchfork reports, Haggard was hospitalised earlier this year due to pneumonia — according to TMZ, his manager says Haggard's passing this morning was because he was weary from battling the disease for so long. 

Peculiarly passing away on his birthday, his son Ben Haggard writes on Facebook that the legend seemed to have predicted his death.

"A week ago dad told us he was gonna pass on his birthday, and he wasn't wrong.

"A hour ago he took his last breath surrounded by family and friends. He loved everything about life and he loved that everyone of you gave him a chance with his music. He wasn't just a country singer.. He was the best country singer that ever lived," Haggard's son posted.

Haggard was inducted into both the Country Music Hall Of Fame and the Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame in the '90s and enjoyed 38 #1 singles on the Billboard Country charts, including The Bottle Let Me Down, Mama Tried and Sing Me Back Home.

Many musicians, from The Grateful Dead to Emmylou Harris to Dolly Parton, covered Haggard's songs over the years, and he had worked at length with Willie Nelson.

A week ago dad told us he was gonna pass on his birthday, and he wasn't wrong. A hour ago he took his last breath...

Posted by Ben Haggard on Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Join 'Backstage Pass', our FREE members program for music fans