Country Icon Merle Haggard Hospitalized for Pneumonia - Closer Weekly

Merle Haggard has been hospitalized for a recurring bout of double pneumonia.

The 78-year-old country music star is receiving treatment for the illness in a California hospital, his rep confirmed to the [Associated Press](https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/USPEOPLEMERLEHAGGARD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)_ in a statement on Tuesday, March 1.

Merle onstage in April 2015.

According to the statement, Merle canceled several concerts last month as he was still suffering from a past bout of pneumonia in both lungs. After the “Okie From Muskogee” singer was advised by his doctors to take a month off from work to recover from his current illness, Merle additionally canceled all of his upcoming March tour dates.

The country icon was previously hospitalized for pneumonia in December 2015. Merle — who was a heavy cigarette smoker until he quit in 1992 — was diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer in November 2008 and subsequently underwent surgery to remove part of his lung.

Just For You

Conversation

All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Closer Weekly does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.