Jennifer Nettles paid tribute to her late father Beamon Nettles with a cover of his favorite Merle Haggard song on Father’s Day.
The singer shared a video of herself on Instagram singing and playing guitar on a cover of Haggard’s song, “The Way I Am,” Sunday (Jun. 19). Nettles revealed that her father had died last month via her social media post. She also said that she’d performed the Haggard cover at her father’s funeral, as it was his favorite song.
“I’m often private about certain sacred pieces of my life and I share them as, and if, I am ready. My daddy, Beamon Nettles, died last month on May 14th,” Nettles wrote. “He was a precious, quiet soul who made his way gently in the world. And it is so strange and unreal that he is not here.”
“This song was his favorite song. I have a vivid memory of him playing it on 45, singing along as I fell asleep at my grandmother’s (“Boo-ma”) house. “The Way I Am” by Merle Haggard. I sang it at his funeral. Happy Father’s Day Daddy. You are loved and missed.”
“Hold your Loves close. I hope everyone had a beautiful day. And thank you to all the fathers out there,” she concluded, adding a ❤️ emoji.
Words of support from a variety of fellow artists poured into the comments section, with Sara Bareilles sharing, “Oh friend. Love you so.”
“Jennifer I’m so sorry. This is beautiful. As are your words about him,” Josh Groban reacted to the video Nettles shared.
Karen Fairchild of country quartet Little Big Town and songwriter Shane McAnally simply commented hearts in response to Nettles’ heartbreaking admission.
The elder Nettles was 69 years old, according to Yahoo Entertainment. The circumstances around his death were not disclosed.
On Father’s Day back in 2018, Nettles shared a photo of herself with her father when she was an infant on social media. “Happy Father’s Day!!!!,” she captioned the post.
Nettles released her latest album Always Like New, which featured single, “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat” in June 2021.
In addition, she portrayed the lead role in the Broadway musical Waitress for a limited time from Oct. 19 to Nov. 24 in 2021.
