Photo of Merle Haggard, courtesy Vanguard Records
Country music icon Merle Haggard died Wednesday, on his 79th birthday.
TMZ first reported the singer's death, which follows a battle with double pneumonia.
After a bout with pneumonia last year, Haggard had scheduled a handful of performances alongside his friend Willie Nelson, with whom he collaborated for last year's Django and Jimmie.
As of last week, Haggard had canceled most of his upcoming shows due to his health.
Known for hits like "Okie from Muskogee," "Mama Tried" and "Workin’ Man Blues," Haggard had 38 No. 1 songs on the country charts and won a number of CMA Awards and Grammys over more than five decades. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994.
Coincidentally, one of the final shows remaining on Haggard's upcoming tour schedule was a festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma.