The musician, who was known as the ‘poet of the common man’ and defined the west coast country sound of the 70s died at his home in California

Country giant Merle Haggard, who celebrated outlaws, underdogs and an abiding sense of national pride in such hits as Okie From Muskogee and Sing Me Back Home, died Wednesday at 79, on his birthday.

Haggard’s manager said the country legend died of pneumonia in Palo Cedro, California. A masterful guitarist, fiddler and songwriter as well as singer, he was inspired to take up music professionally when he was among the inmates at San Quentin prison when Johnny Cash performed there in 1958. He went on to record for more than 40 years, releasing dozens of albums and No 1 hits.

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The country legend had canceled all his concerts for the month of April due to illness. His son Ben, who played lead guitar in Haggard’s band, said his father had predicted the day of his death.

“A week ago, Dad told us he was gonna pass on his birthday, and he wasn’t wrong,” Ben wrote on Facebook. “An hour ago he took his last breath surrounded by family and friends.”

Haggard became one of the most influential figures in country music with a repertoire that included songs with traditional country themes such as drinking and heartache (Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down and Fightin’ Side Of Me), but he infused them with more insight and tenderness than most honky-tonkers. He also broadened the genre by writing about poverty, loneliness and social issues (Workin’ Man Blues, If We Make It Through December).

Haggard once said he preferred playing guitar to singing but it was his voice that made him stand out.

“Haggard’s exceptionally true intonation, his command of varied vocal textures and his insinuating phrasing would make him a superior vocalist in any idiom,” the New York Times said of Haggard in his prime. “Like Muddy Waters in the blues field and only a handful of other performers, he both embodies and transcends his rich American musical heritage.”

Haggard’s sound drew from traditional country but also touched on folk, pop, jazz, blues and rock, and his songs were covered by the likes of the Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“I can’t remember when I haven’t listened to him,” said Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. “Some of the best songs and best delivery you can get.”

Born near Bakersfield in California, Haggard had a tough upbringing and was sent to the state’s notorious San Quentin prison for trying to break into a cafe (he was too drunk to realize that at the time it was still open and serving customers).

Haggard was already a big fan of country star Lefty Frizzell when he saw Johnny Cash perform at the prison in 1958 and decided to make a career of music after being paroled almost three years into his sentence.

“I would’ve become a lifetime criminal if music hadn’t saved my ass,” Haggard said in a PBS documentary. “I’m living proof that things go wrong in America and I’m also living proof that things can go right.”

During his time as governor of California, Ronald Reagan pardoned Haggard for his crime.

On his release, Haggard became synonymous with the Bakersfield Sound in the 70s, when along with other west coast artists such as Buck Owens and Susan Raye he provided a stripped-back “outlaw country” sound that was in stark contrast to the string-laden, over-produced songs coming out of Nashville at the time.

His most notorious song, Okie From Muskogee, was co-written with his band’s (the Strangers) drummer Roy Edward Burris and talked about a vision of small-town America that clashed with the protest movement and counterculture that was flourishing in the late 60s.

The song sold 250,000 copies, while its infamous lyrics “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee/We don’t take our trips on LSD/We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street/But we like livin’ right and bein’ free” followed Haggard around for decades, with journalists trying to pin him down on who it was aimed at.

Initially he said it started out as a joke directed at “barefooted bums walking around”, before he told the New Yorker in 1990 that sometimes he wished he’d never written it.

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He was also known for his sense of humor, which came to the fore during his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame when he appeared on stage with a roll of toilet paper containing the names of people he wanted to thank.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Haggard thanked his plumber during his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1:50).

“I’d like to thank Andy Gump, my plumber,” he said. “You’re doing a great job keeping my toilets working, Andy.”

He was active until a few months before his death, and in 2015 released an album with longtime collaborator and fellow “outlaw” Willie Nelson. The pair had done the chart-topping honky-tonk single Pancho and Lefty in 1983, and joined forces on Django and Jimmie, which was a tribute to jazz guitarists Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.