Joey Feek's long-buried country solo album is finally set to see the light of day, and Taste of Country fans are getting to hear one of the tracks before anyone else.

The singer rose to fame with her husband Rory as one-half of Joey + Rory after they competed on Can You Duet? and placed third in 2008. They released a total of eight albums and starred in a television show on RFD-TV, but prior to that, Feek recorded a solo album titled Strong Enough to Cry in 2005. The project was shelved and has not been available since.

Feek died in 2016 after a valiant battle with cancer that inspired fans around the world, and due to the renewed interest in her life, her husband has teamed with Gaither Music Group to re-release the album under the title If Not for You on April 7.

"Southern Girl" is a simple acoustic track, and Feek delivers the lyrics in a straightforward, earnest performance, demonstrating an ability to hit some very solid high notes without sacrificing the melody of the song or being overly showy.

The song is somewhat haunting in retrospect.

"It's in my blood, it's in my soul / It's where the man I love and I are gonna grow old / And when I go to Heaven, I'm gonna leave this world / A Southern girl," she sings.

"In the fall of 1998, Joey packed everything she owned into a cattle trailer and moved to Music City to follow her dreams. She was an Indiana girl, born and raised in Madison County, but she had a Tennessee heart. It’s where her future lay waiting, and where her heart and soul wanted, and needed, to be. And so, with her dog, Rufus, by her side, she headed south to Nashville," Rory writes in the album liner notes.

"I would meet her in 2001, and together we would put down new roots in soil where Joey would not only spend the next 15 years growing vegetables to feed her family, but ultimately be laid to rest ... just as the song she recorded many years earlier said she would."

If Not for You is currently available for pre-order via Amazon and iTunes.

Listen to Joey Feek, "Southern Girl"

Beautiful Photos of Joey + Rory

5 Unforgettable Joey + Rory Songs

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