Author: Taste Of Country
Not all country stars came by their storytelling ability naturally. Sadly, many singers have encountered great tragedies in their lives, or have overcome sharp odds to get where they are today. Many have battled unbearable, unimaginable pain.
Lost loved ones, cancer, suicide, scary, unexpected brushes with death … those are just a few of the events artists like Reba McEntire and Luke Bryan have faced. A lot of these artists overcame their obstacles and turned them into positives, but that’s not always the case. Explore the gallery below to see what we mean.
Country Stars Who Suffered Unthinkable Tragedy
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George Strait’s Daughter
In 1986, George Strait and his wife, Norma, lost their first child. Jenifer Strait, born Oct. 6, 1972, was killed in a one-car accident in San Marcos, Texas. She was 13 at the time of her death, but Strait didn’t allow the tragedy to happen in vain. Instead, he created the Jenifer Lynn Strait Foundation, an organization that still donates money to San Antonio children’s charities.
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Gary Allan’s Wife Commits Suicide
Gary Allan’s life changed drastically on Oct. 25, 2004, the day the singer’s wife of three years, Angela Herzberg, committed suicide. Angela was 36 years old when she shot herself. Allan and the kids were all home, and it took the singer much time to deal with the grief, which even meant taking time away from music and writing songs. Eventually, he learned that music was therapeutic for him.
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Eddie Montgomery Loses a Son
The Montgomery Gentry singer’s son Hunter died in Sept. 2015, after an accident that left him in intensive care. The 19-year-old had just become a father. He was the youngest of Montgomery’s four kids. The tragedy was one of many for the Kentucky native. In the half-decade before Hunter’s death he’d battled (and beat) cancer, divorced, lost his record deal and filed for personal bankruptcy.
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Loretta Lynn’s Son Drowns
In 1984, Loretta Lynn lost a very important part of her family when one of her six children, Jack Benny Lynn, died. Jack went for a ride on his horse, Black Jack, and never returned. He had tried to ford the Duck River near the farm, but the water was too rough, and he couldn’t make it. At the same time, Lynn was found unconscious and then hospitalized for exhaustion. Because of this, she wasn’t immediately told about her son’s untimely death.
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Willie Nelson’s Loss
The 1990s were difficult for Willie Nelson. The singer had to overcome both the death of his son and a multi-million dollar battle with the IRS. On Christmas Day in 1991, Nelson’s son, Billy, was found dead. He had committed suicide by hanging himself. Prior to his son’s death, a lot of Nelson’s possessions were repossessed by the IRS to settle a debt of $32 million. Thankfully, Nelson was able to overcome his son’s tragic death and his battle with the IRS and continue making music.
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Reba’s Tragedy
Reba McEntire suffered a huge tragedy in March of 1991, when she lost eight members of her band and crew in a horrific plane accident. The band, along with her manager, a pilot and a co-pilot, were all killed when their charter jet crashed near San Diego. This obviously hit McEntire hard. The singer dedicated her next album For My Broken Heart to the lives that were lost.
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Brantley Gilbert’s Car Accident
Brantley Gilbert was involved in an almost-fatal car accident at the age of 19. The singer, who had been drinking, was traveling in his truck in Georgia. He went off the road and his truck flipped several times before colliding with a tree. Somehow, by the grace of God, Gilbert survived the accident — and became sober!
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Blake Shelton Loses His Brother
Blake Shelton is another country star who suffered the loss of a family member before becoming famous, later telling the story through songwriting. The Okie lost his older brother, Richie, in a car accident when he was a teenager. Blake was just 14 when 24-year-old Richie passed. The loss didn’t keep him down forever, though. Wife Miranda Lambert’s hit “Over You” was written by the couple in Richie’s memory, and after a CMA win and radio success, it found a permanent place in country music history.
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Hank Williams Jr.’s Fall
Hank Williams Jr. is lucky to be alive after a climbing trip that almost cost him his life. Williams went to climb a snowy Ajax Peak in Montana when he slipped and fell a terrifying 500 feet. It wasn’t the fall’s distance that was life-threatening, but the fact that he hit a boulder face first. It took the country icon two years of plastic surgery to get back to normal.
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