Country Music has lost a legend. Merle Haggard, who turned 79 today, died Wednesday (April 6th) in California, surrounded by friends and family. The Country Music Hall of Famer had been in failing health for quite some time, diagnosed with double pneumonia in December, which led to the cancellation of several dates, including a two-night stand at the Ryman Auditorium.

Haggard had 40 No. 1 songs, including “Mama Tried,” “Workin’ Man Blues,” “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” and wrote many classics, some of which had been recorded by folks such as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill, who is a lifelong fan of the iconic entertainer.

“I‘ve been a [Merle] Haggard nut my whole life,” says Vince Gill, who along with his pal Paul Franklin released Bakersfield album in 2013 (a collaborative tribute of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens songs). “And I’ve played country music, recorded country music my whole life, and I’ve tried to emulate what I loved about Merle Haggard on a lot of occasions.”

Many of country music’s brightest stars took to Twitter to offer their thoughts:

For Eric Church, he wrote and recorded “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” for his Sinners Like Me album. The song also featured the subject of the song, Mr. Merle Haggard.

Eric Church ‏@ericchurch 
Rest in peace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00IEK9KdWgE …

Alan Jackson ‏@OfficialJackson 
“We lost one of the greatest singer/songwriters since Hank Williams. Inspiration to millions, great American, thank you Merle. I’ll miss you.”

Luke Bryan ‏@LukeBryanOnline 
“A true hero was lost today. Thank you for your contribution to not only country music but all music. @merlehaggard”

Keith Urban ‏@KeithUrban 
“One of the gr8 concert memories I have is seeing Merle and the Strangers at the Ryman in Nashville. We had a ‘live’ album of his when I was growing up and I felt like I’d fallin’ inside my Dad’s stereo speakers. One of my all time favorite voices – and a master songwriter. Blessings to your soulful spirit Merle & all of you family & loved ones.” – KU

Hillary Scott ‏@HillaryScottLA
“You are a cornerstone of country music @merlehaggard…u will be missed greatly. Praying for the Haggard family.”

KACEY MUSGRAVES ‏@KaceyMusgraves 
“I think I’ll just stay here and drink.”

Billy Currington ‏@billycurrington 
“rip @merlehaggard thank you for all the great music u blessed us with. we will play it forever.”

Dierks Bentley ‏@DierksBentley 
“Literally just fell to the floor. can’t believe we lost the hag. rip merle haggard.”

Toby Keith ‏@TobyKeithMusic 
“The greatest singer songwriter of my lifetime is gone. Thanks for the music and friendship. R.I.P. Hag. – T”

GaryAllan ‏@GaryAllan 
“Merle was my all-time hero. Today we lost one of the greatest songwriters of country music and I will always regret not recording with him. He was a legend and I was honored whenever we got the chance to share a stage with him. Thank you for the inspiration, the advice and for always being you. I, as well as the entire music community, will miss you Merle.”

Darius Rucker ‏@dariusrucker
“Heaven’s band just got better! RIP to the LEGENDARY @merlehaggard. Your music will never die!”

Jon Pardi ‏@JonPardi 
“Sad day today @merlehaggard has passed. RIP to a true songwriter, a pioneer of California Country, and country music.”

Kip Moore ‏@KipMooreMusic 
“RIP Merle…you paved the way for so many. You had what we all hope for…a voice that matters and survives the ever changing trends.”

Josh Turner ‏@joshturnermusic  5m5 minutes ago
“Pains me to say that country music icon @merlehaggard has passed away. So honored to have known him and shared the stage with him. Thanks Merle for all you’ve done for us!”

Mickey Guyton ‏@MickeyGuyton 
“RIP Merle Haggard. Heaven’s choir just got a heck of a lot better.”

For David Nail, seeing Merle in concert was a life-changing experience. “The night I saw Merle At the Golden Nugget, it was the single greatest combination of seeing an artist/venue/city together, that I’ve ever witnessed.  It was a spiritual experience.  I looked at my buddy multiple times in disbelief that we were actually there.  I teared up on a few songs.  I knew the greatness I was seeing/hearing.”

George Strait was a huge fan of Merle Haggard’s. He says, “When I was in the Army and stationed at Schofield barracks in Hawaii, you know Merle came there, and he played Conroy Bowl.  And I remember I was playing an NCO club that night, and before my little gig, I got to run over there and I kinda snuck in and saw Merle and it just blew me away. That’s what I wanted to be like, you know, I wanted to be like the Hag. And so, I can’t tell you how big of an influence he was on me, just huge.”

Strait also posted a reaction on his socials: “It’s a very sad day for all of us Hag fans. He was a true icon of the music world and it’s hard to believe we won’t be able to see him anymore. I honestly think that had it not been for him, I would not have chosen the path that I chose.” – G

Most of the time, Kip Moore can’t really turn off that creative, artistic side that has him chasing that cool chord progression or that   So, when he comes off the road from being on tour, his mind is usually buzzing with song or melody ideas that he has to get down before going to sleep. His current single was born from one of those moments.

I wrote ‘Running for You’ possibly four years ago [with] Blair Daly and Troy Verges,” says Kip. “The guitar groove was something that me getting off the road at two o’clock in the morning when I was living in that awful room, which made me, there’s no TVs, there’s no couches, there’s no nothing. All it was was guitar amps and guitars, and it made me stay in that really strange place mentally. I remember that night picking up the guitar and coming up with that really cool thing and kind of some of that melody.”

“Running for You” is from his latest album, Wild Ones.

Kip is currently Down Under for the CMC Rocks Queensland Festival. He’ll return to the States in time to perform during the ACM Party for a Cause April 3rd in Las Vegas.

Kip Moore ended the second leg of his headlining WILD ONES TOUR how he started it: with a string of sold-out shows. Closing out the raucous run this weekend to a packed house in Anaheim, CA, Moore played the last four weekends in a row to capacity venues in Des Moines, IA; Denver, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; Spokane, WA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA as well as a five-show sold-out stint in Canada.

Kicking off in October last year, the first leg of the WILD ONES Tour also hosted multiple sold-out dates including Boston, MA; London, ON; Toronto, ON; Cleveland, OH; Springfield, IL and a two night run in Chicago, IL that spurred the extension of the tour.

“It’s hard to explain what’s happening out on the road with us and the fans unless you have seen it in person,” said Moore. “These fans have been faithfully returning for the past couple years and so now it really feels like we’re all in this together. They show up and they know every word to every song, whether it’s been on the radio or not, and for that we are truly grateful.”

Hot on the heels of his sold-out tour, Moore will head over to Australia for the first time next month, followed by headlining shows in The UK and Ireland in April.  Fan demand has led to bigger venues being scheduled in Birmingham, UK; Dublin, IE; Manchester, UK and Glasgow, UK and Moore will close out the run with a headlining sold-out date in London, UK. Moore recently released the “beautifully shot music video” (Country Weekly) for his current single “Running For You,” which was taken from Moore’s critically acclaimed sophomore album WILD ONES that VICE declares “sprinkles a little late-night Bonnaroo magic…that’s made to be witnessed live.” WILD ONES follows Moore’s debut album UP ALL NIGHT which was recently certified GOLD by the RIAA and spawned three No. One hit singles including GOLD certified “Beer Money,” PLATINUM certified “Hey Pretty Girl,” and Moore’s DOUBLE PLATINUM breakout hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck.”

Kip Moore will perform his latest single, “Running For You,” on The Talk Monday (February 22nd) on CBS.  Moore, who recently “delivered an epic take on his current single” (Rolling Stone) to an intimate crowd during CRS Week, recently released the music video for the single.

Kip will follow up his national TV performance by heading back out on the road for more sold-out shows on the West Coast as part of his headlining WILD ONES TOUR.  Moore’s stacked week follows a full-capacity run including packed houses in Denver, CO, Salt Lake City, UT as well as a sold-out stint in Canada including stops in Edmonton, AB, Penticton, AB, Abbotsford, BC and a two-night stand in Calgary, AB.

The second leg of Moore’s WILD ONES TOUR also continues to go from strength to strength overseas as fan demand in Europe has led to bigger venues being scheduled in Birmingham, UK, Manchester, UK, Glasgow, UK and Dublin, IE.

For a full list of dates and more information visit www.kipmoore.net.

Kip Moore is getting ready to release the video for his latest single, “Running For You,” and it’ll be a little different view of him. You can check it out for yourself in the behind-the-scenes look below.

Luke Bryan is set to perform a two-song medley during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. He’ll perform his No. 1 hit, “That’s My Kind of Night” and “Move” from his latest album, Kill the Lights.

Sam Hunt is scheduled to perform on NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers January 6th.

Keith Urban‘s official lyric video for his latest single, “Break On Me,” has been released. Check it out here.

Kip Moore has been spending his holiday surfing in Costa Rica.