Craig Morgan’s ‘The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost’ Hits No. 1 on iTunes With a Little Help From Blake Shelton, Ellen DeGeneres
Craig Morgan's deeply personal new single "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost" has bested buzzy songs by Lizzo, Blanco Brown and others, topping the all-genre iTunes sales chart on Thursday (Sept. 12). The achievement follows a social media push for the song from Morgan's fellow country singer Blake Shelton, which received a boost from a major television personality.
Morgan released "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost" on Aug. 30. The heart-wrenching song finds the singer reflecting on the loss of his teenage son Jerry, and how, although life goes on, in some ways, it's hard to keep going. Ten days later, on Monday (Sept. 9), Shelton tweeted that he would "gladly give up my spot on country radio to get this song on."
"There’s nothing easy or fun about writing a song like this," Shelton adds, "but sometimes it’s just something you gotta do."
Shelton wasn't just making an empty promise, though: In the days since, he's been retweeting fans' and radio stations' support for Morgan's song, and calling on his followers to buy the song and give it a listen. Shelton tweeted at, among others, Today host Hoda Kotb, but it was actress, comedian and daytime TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres who gave the star's grassroots campaign an extra push.
"This is why I love you, @BlakeShelton," DeGeneres tweeted on Wednesday (Sept. 11), retweeting one of Shelton's tweets about "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost." "Let’s get @cmorganmusic to number 1."
Morgan's son Jerry died in a boating accident at the age of 19 in 2016. The Dickson County High School graduate was planning to attend Marshall University and play football. He was wearing a life jacket when the accident occurred; in the days after his death, officials investigating admitted that they were unsure why the teenager’s life jacket did not stop him from drowning.
Morgan is the sole writer and producer of "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost." The singer released released his most recent album, A Whole Lot More to Me, about a month before Jerry died and, in the years since, has turned to his woodworking hobby while processing his grief. His family business, the Gallery at Morgan Farms, offers handmade goods in the singer's hometown of Dickson, Tenn.
WATCH: Craig Morgan Opens Up About Jerry's Death
Country Stars Who Have Lost Children