Merle Haggard hospitalized with pneumonia

MACON, Ga., Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Country music icon Merle Haggard is hospitalized in Macon, Ga., with pneumonia and has postponed seven scheduled shows, his publicist said Thursday.

Haggard, 74, was admitted Tuesday, before a scheduled show in Macon. His publicist told the Los Angeles Times the Country Music Hall of Fame member hopes to be out of the hospital in a few days, and that "he sounded in good spirits when I spoke to him (Wednesday)."

Haggard has postponed January shows in Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma to new dates in April.

Haggard had lung cancer surgery in 2008, when surgeons removed the upper lobe of his right lung.

Haggard -- whose hits include "Okie from Muskogee," "Mama Tried" and "Workin' Man Blues" -- is a two-time Grammy Award winner and was honored with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He was awarded a Kennedy Center honor in 2010.