Country music legend Merle Haggard, has sadly passed away after suffering from Pneumonia, Gigwise reports citing TMZ.

Haggard sadly passed away on Wednesday 6 April 2016, the same day he turned 79 years old. The website has also reported that the singer was forced to spend 11 days in hospital earlier this year.

Though the singer had been diagnosed with pneumonia last year, he still pursued his work schedule. He released an album with Willie Nelson called Django and Jimmie, and toured extensively. There were more performances scheduled for later this month, but as his health took a turn for the worse they were cancelled.

Haggard was often called The Poet of The Common Man, and came out of the honky tonk scene of California in the 1960s. He was also considered one of the founding voices of the Bakersfield Sound.

He also had 38 no.1 country hits over his career spanning 50 years. Merle Haggard also won several prestigious accolades in the country music world, ranging from various Academy of Country Music awards, as well as a grammy for best vocal performance and best vocal collaboration, for his tracks, ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ and ‘Same Old Train’.