Merle Haggard

(Newser) - The music world has lost an icon: Merle Haggard died Wednesday on his 79th birthday, reports TMZ . He'd been fighting double pneumonia since last year. Haggard was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994, and as ABC23 notes, he "won just about every music award"...

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney were among the latest group of celebs to receive Kennedy Center Honors in a star-filled night that included tributes from Julia Roberts and John Travolta, among others. Merle Haggard, Broadway composer Jerry Herman, and dancer Bill T. Jones were also honored, as they sat with...

(Newser) - Country crooner Merle Haggard is recovering at home in California after undergoing surgery for lung cancer last week, Reuters reports. The 71-year-old singer was recently diagnosed with a slow-spreading form of the cancer, which tests show was completely removed in the surgery. "I'm feeling better and better each day,...

(Newser) - And the roughest toughest country singer is...

1. Hank Williams
2. Johnny Cash
3. Willie Nelson
4. Merle Haggard
5. Loretta Lynn