A file photo of Merle Haggard. (Image Courtesy: AFP)
New York:
Country music legend Merle Haggard, an outlaw in both song and life died on his 79th birthday on April 6.
Mr Haggard, who had recently returned to tour despite frequent illness, died due to pneumonia at his home in northern California, a representative said.
His son, fellow musician Ben Haggard, posted on Facebook:
Several musicians paid tribute to Mr Haggard, who released a staggering amount of work in over six decades with more than 30 songs that topped the US country charts.
"We've lost one of the greatest writers and singers of all time. His heart was as tender as his love ballads. I loved him like a brother," singer Dolly Parton said in a statement.
Willie Nelson, a collaborator of Mr Haggard who is the best known living star of the outlaw country genre, wrote on Facebook that the late singer was "my brother, my friend."
Mr Haggard had the greatest impact with his 1969 hit Okie from Muskogee, which emerged as an anthem of sorts for the counterculture to the counterculture who had become so prominent among the US youth.
The song -- its title reference to a slang for a person from the conservative Plains state of Oklahoma, in which Muskogee is a small city - talks about pride in the US flag and the war against communism in Vietnam.
Transition from conservative image
The song became a rallying cry in the US culture wars while Mr Haggard later described Okie from Muskogee as an attempt to understand heartland America rather than a statement of his own principles.
He became a critic of the more recent war in Iraq and has been an avowed supporter of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, even writing a song in 2007 for her earlier campaign with the line, "Let's put a woman in charge."
In another recent interview, Mr Haggard voiced solidarity with African Americans protesting against police brutality and said that the former Confederacy -- country music's home turf -- had not addressed the Civil War.
Married five times and the singer of many love ballads, Mr Haggard became best known for outlaw country songs about run-ins with the law -- a subject matter he knew first-hand.
Deeply affected by his father's death when he was a child, Mr Haggard learned guitar as a youth and was involved in petty crime, landing in California's San Quentin prison for burglary and put in solitary confinement for brewing moonshine.
He credited a 1958 performance at the prison by legend Johnny Cash -- who turned a later concert at San Quentin into a celebrated album -- with inspiring him to pursue music.
California country sound
Mr Haggard's family hailed from Oklahoma but he was born and lived his life in California, where he picked up diverse influences including pop and especially the blues on his guitar.
He became a leading force in the Bakersfield Sound, named for the southern California oil town settled by many Southern transplants, which emphasized electric guitar over Nashville's string arrangements.
His other well-known hits included Mama Tried, which became a favourite cover song for hippie-era rock greats the Grateful Dead, as well as Workin' Man Blues, an ode to the blue-collar values, and Pancho and Lefty, a cover of a bandits' tale performed with Nelson.
Mr Haggard teamed up again with Nelson last year for an album that, in another sign of how far he had come from Okie from Muskogee, features the paean to marijuana It's All Going to Pot.
Mr Haggard, who had recently returned to tour despite frequent illness, died due to pneumonia at his home in northern California, a representative said.
His son, fellow musician Ben Haggard, posted on Facebook:
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, April 6, 2016
Several musicians paid tribute to Mr Haggard, who released a staggering amount of work in over six decades with more than 30 songs that topped the US country charts.
"We've lost one of the greatest writers and singers of all time. His heart was as tender as his love ballads. I loved him like a brother," singer Dolly Parton said in a statement.
Willie Nelson, a collaborator of Mr Haggard who is the best known living star of the outlaw country genre, wrote on Facebook that the late singer was "my brother, my friend."
Mr Haggard had the greatest impact with his 1969 hit Okie from Muskogee, which emerged as an anthem of sorts for the counterculture to the counterculture who had become so prominent among the US youth.
The song -- its title reference to a slang for a person from the conservative Plains state of Oklahoma, in which Muskogee is a small city - talks about pride in the US flag and the war against communism in Vietnam.
Transition from conservative image
The song became a rallying cry in the US culture wars while Mr Haggard later described Okie from Muskogee as an attempt to understand heartland America rather than a statement of his own principles.
He became a critic of the more recent war in Iraq and has been an avowed supporter of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, even writing a song in 2007 for her earlier campaign with the line, "Let's put a woman in charge."
In another recent interview, Mr Haggard voiced solidarity with African Americans protesting against police brutality and said that the former Confederacy -- country music's home turf -- had not addressed the Civil War.
Married five times and the singer of many love ballads, Mr Haggard became best known for outlaw country songs about run-ins with the law -- a subject matter he knew first-hand.
Deeply affected by his father's death when he was a child, Mr Haggard learned guitar as a youth and was involved in petty crime, landing in California's San Quentin prison for burglary and put in solitary confinement for brewing moonshine.
He credited a 1958 performance at the prison by legend Johnny Cash -- who turned a later concert at San Quentin into a celebrated album -- with inspiring him to pursue music.
California country sound
Mr Haggard's family hailed from Oklahoma but he was born and lived his life in California, where he picked up diverse influences including pop and especially the blues on his guitar.
He became a leading force in the Bakersfield Sound, named for the southern California oil town settled by many Southern transplants, which emphasized electric guitar over Nashville's string arrangements.
His other well-known hits included Mama Tried, which became a favourite cover song for hippie-era rock greats the Grateful Dead, as well as Workin' Man Blues, an ode to the blue-collar values, and Pancho and Lefty, a cover of a bandits' tale performed with Nelson.
Mr Haggard teamed up again with Nelson last year for an album that, in another sign of how far he had come from Okie from Muskogee, features the paean to marijuana It's All Going to Pot.
