Country music legend Merle Haggard has died after a prolonged battle with double pneumonia, which he had been battling since late last year.
Haggard, 79, turned to music and rose to prominence as a Country singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist as he helped to create and shape what was knows as the Southern California style 'Bakersfield Sound' of the 1960s.
Charlie Daniels - fellow country musician from nearby Wilson County - says country music has suffered on of the greatest losses it will ever experience.
No details are currently available regarding services or memorials.
