Daryle Singletary’s Final Concert Ended With a Johnny Paycheck Cover [WATCH]
Footage of Daryle Singletary's final performance, given on Saturday night (Feb. 10), is making its way around the internet following his death early Monday morning (Feb. 12). The '90s country artist's last concert took place at Cowboy's, a nightclub in Lafayette, La., and closed with a cover of Johnny Paycheck's "Old Violin."
Singletary originally recorded his cover of "Old Violin" for his 2002 album That's Why I Sing This Way, a record full of country classics. Merle Haggard, Rhonda Vincent and more lent their voices to the project; "Old Violin" is the album's final track and features Paycheck.
Written by Paycheck, "Old Violin" ends with lyrics that feel especially eerie following Singletary's death: "And just like that, it hit me / That old violin and I were just alike / We'd give our all to country music / And soon we'd give our life."
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Born March 10, 1971, in Cairo, Ga., Singletary moved to Nashville in the early 1990s to pursue a career in country music. He started out performing at open mic nights and working as a demo singer. After Randy Travis recorded one of the songs that Singletary demoed, "An Old Pair of Shoes," Travis recommended the aspiring artist to his management team, and they helped Singletary sign with Giant Records.
Singletary released his debut album, a self-titled project, in 1995; two of its singles -- "I Let Her Lie" and "Too Much Fun" -- reached the Top 5 on the country charts. Throughout his career, Singletary released six additional studio albums, the most recent of which, There's Still a Little Country Left, came out in 2015. He charted more than a dozen singles, including a third Top 5 hit, "Amen Kind of Love."
Singletary leaves behind his wife, Holly, and four children: 7-year-old twin boys Mercer and Jonah, 5-year-old daughter Nora Caroline and 3-year-old daughter Charlotte Rose. He is also survived by his parents, Roger and Anita Singletary; a brother, Kevin Singletary; a sister-in-law, Melinda Singletary; his mother and father-in-law, Terry and Sandy Mercer; and a brother and sister-in-law, Tony and Kristy Rowland.
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