Brantley Gilbert’s Grandfather Dies During Singer’s Honeymoon

Brantley Gilbert says his song “One Hell of an Amen” has taken on new meaning since the death of his grandfather. The 82-year-old died while the singer was on his honeymoon. He’d been battling COPD and emphysema for decades..

During a conversation with Lon Helton of Country Countdown USA, Gilbert said he hopes he and his new wife Amber can share a love like his grandmother and grandfather. They were together to the very end, both in a nursing home after she broke her hip.

“When they did, they had them separated at first,” Gilbert says, “and every time they took her out of the room, he’d be out of it. They had to revive him. But when they kept them in the same room, until his last days, they were in the same room, so she was the first thing he saw when he woke up.”

“That’s the way I want to love Amber.”

Gilbert’s grandfather’s battle with COPD and emphysema lasted over 20 years, he says. He got the news of his passing around 2:30AM one morning while on his honeymoon. Amber could tell he was upset, so he got out of bed and went for a short walk. It was then he thought of his current single and how it suddenly applied to a new situation for him.

“The song took on a whole new meaning for me,” the 30-year-old tells Helton. “It totally fits him … he was a fighter.”

Gilbert resumes touring Friday night (July 24) in Las Vegas. He’s spent much of the summer on Kenny Chesney’s The Big Revival Tour. That wraps on Aug. 29 in Foxborough, Mass.

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