Introduction:
The grief-stricken son of country singer Merle Haggard, who died aged 79 on Wednesday, has revealed his father predicted that he would die on his birthday.
In a touching Instagram post, Ben Haggard, 23, wrote: ‘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 surrounded by family and friends. He loved everything about life and he loved that everyone of you gave him a chance with his music.
‘He wasn’t just a country singer… he was the best country singer that ever lived.’
The words were accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of father and son holding hands.
Ben was the guitarist in his father’s band, The Strangers.
Shortly afterwards, he shared a touching photo of himself as a child with his father. It was captioned: ‘Something you never get over.’
Stars including his long-term friend and collaborator, Willie Nelson, rushed to pay tribute after Haggard’s manager confirmed the news of his passing.
The death came just a few days after the singer cancelled his April concert dates after suffering from a recurring bout of double pneumonia.
He had a battle with lung cancer in 2008 – having part of a lung removed – but despite illness and his advancing age kept up an ambitious touring schedule.
Indeed, his 2015 tour schedule saw him perform in over 30 cities.
Amongst those paying to tribute was his close friend and collaborator Nelson, who said: ‘He was my brother, my friend. I will miss him.’
Stars including Carrie Underwood, Cassadee Pope, Dierks Bentley and Hillary Scott also shared their condolences.
A masterful guitarist, fiddler and songwriter as well as singer, Haggard recorded for more than 40 years, releasing dozens of albums and No. 1 hits.