Country music star Craig Morgan's promotion of current single "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost" included an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, during which Morgan's tribute to his late son brought Clarkson, Hollywood star Eva Mendes and the song's most visible cheerleader, fellow country star Blake Shelton, to tears.
The moving song and its music video address the personal faith that helps Morgan cope with the 2016 drowning death of his 19-year-old son Jerry Greer.
Morgan's Oct. 17, 2019 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show also included a sit-down interview, during which Morgan explained how Ricky Skaggs encouraged him to turn what was supposed to be a one-off performance at the Grand Ole Opry into the studio recording that's now a viral hit.
"I walked off the stage, thinking I might never perform it again," Morgan told People in June. "But standing there was Ricky Skaggs, and he told me that I simply had to perform it again. I had to get through this and find a way to share this song with as many people as I could."
Morgan's first new music since Greer's passing tugged at the heartstrings of Shelton, a family friend with his own story of loss from the 1990 death of his brother Richie. To make sure Morgan's cathartic songwriting in honor of his late son reached as large an audience as possible, Shelton launched a social media campaign to ease the new song up the charts.
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In October of 2019, the song sat atop iTunes' all-genre chart, putting it ahead of singles by Luke Combs and other country stars plus massive pop hits by Lizzo, BTS and others.
This article was originally published in October of 2019.
