Brittany Aldean, wife of country superstar Jason Aldean, took to social media to share an emotional video revealing that her father, Donald Kerr, has been diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia.
The heartbreaking video showcased her dad’s “journey with dementia,” featuring clips of Brittany with her father through the years, along with the caption, “The heartache that diseases like this bring to a family is something we know all too well. We hope this song brings comfort to anyone going through something similar.” The video was soundtracked by “Help You Remember” by Jason Aldean.
Brittany Aldean further elaborated on her father’s journey with dementia in her Instagram stories. She tearfully explained that she father started showing signs of dementia in 2020, and was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2022.
“I’ve tried to film [this video] five times now, and I can’t make it through, so I’m going to really try again. So this has been a day that I’ve been excited about, but also a little bit dreading, just because when we put things out on social media, it seems like we tell so much of what’s going on in life,” Brittany began in a lengthy video message. “But in actuality, we’re very private people and you guys don’t know a lot of stuff that goes on personally. And this is the time that I have started to share my dad’s dementia journey through the real that I just posted.”
She was inspired to open up about her father’s dementia journey after husband Jason Aldean released “Help You Remember,” a song co-written by Aldean alongside Kurt Allison, Lydia Vaughan, Tully Kennedy and John Morgan. Produced by Michael Knox, the track finds Jason Aldean reflecting on his experience with a family member battling dementia, including his uncle.
“When Jason’s bandmates wrote this song, it obviously hit home. And Jason’s uncle actually had the same type of dementia and passed away from this dementia right before my dad was diagnosed, which is so crazy. We started seeing signs back in 2020, and then in 2022, my dad was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, which is a very horrible form,” she continued.
In a recent interview with Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, Jason Aldean also opened about his uncle’s battle. “We’re writing songs about…family members going through things like dementia, those kinds of things,” Aldean reflected. “My mother’s brother, my uncle, passed away with Lewy body dementia in the last year, and [we’ve] got another family member that’s dealing with that kind of thing. So we’ve got some songs we wrote, talking about that.”
According to Mayo Clinic, Lewy Body Dementia, also known as LBD, is “a progressive brain disorder characterized by abnormal protein deposits (Lewy bodies) in certain areas of the brain. The protein deposits affect brain regions involved in thinking, memory and movement.” Lewy Body Dementia is the second-most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease.
Brittany Aldean went on to share that “it is true what they say about dementia” and how it is a “long goodbye because just cognitively your loved one declines.”
“It just seems like such a slow process, but it’s quick too, and you’re just slowly losing your person, and it’s just mourning the loss of someone whose still alive. So it’s been a really hard thing to go through,” she admitted before detailing that she was hesitant to share her father’s story, but he wanted her to as he told her “if it helps one person, then it was just totally worth it.”
Brittany concluded, “I’ve talked to my dad about this video and sharing this story, and he is the sweetest man… So it’s something I was never going to speak on, but I just hope that if you’re out there going through something similar, you’re not alone. And also another point I wanted to make is just to, you never know what people are going through. Even though it may seem so amazing in life, there are a lot of things behind the scenes that people could be going through. So just have grace, I guess, and any prayers for my sweet daddy would be so appreciated.”
“Help You Remember” appears on Jason Aldean’s new album, Songs About Us, arriving on April 24. The song also supports the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, serving as a reminder that no family has to face this alone. Fans can join Aldean in supporting the cause HERE. Songs About Us is a 20 track project that will feature duets with his wife Brittany Aldean, longtime friend Luke Bryan and “Dust On The Bottle” hitmaker David Lee Murphy. The album also features his nostalgic single, “How Far Does A Goodbye Go,” which is his current single at Country radio and sits in the Top 20.
“It means the world when one of my songs helps someone through a hard time—or celebrates their best moments,” Aldean said in a press release. “This album is about all of that—the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Every track started with a real story or feeling, and together we turned those experiences into music. In the end, I realized this album is about all of us. These are songs about us.”
For more information about Jason Aldean’s Songs About Us, visit his official website.
