Ashley Monroe Follows Cancer Announcement With Stirring Bryan Adams Cover [Watch]
Ashley Monroe has shared her interpretation of the 1991 hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You," a Bryan Adams ballad that clearly means the world to her.
In a moving message to fans, sent one day after she revealed that she has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, Monroe writes about singing this song to her baby boy, and how, in light of recent events, the song hits even deeper. Brittney Spencer joins her for a vocal duet, and producer Tyler Cain joins in with a pair of guitar parts.
"[Spencer] is a new friend of mine, and I absolutely adore her on every level," Monroe writes. "She and I had been texting about our mutual love for @BryanAdams, so @thisistylercain and I asked her to come sing one of our favorites of Bryan’s with us."
"I hope you all feel this one as much as I do," the Pistol Annies member says in closing. "I love of all you, too. Your overwhelming support, love and prayers has gotten me [through] today."
Spencer is a Middle Tennessee State University graduate who has worked as a vocal coach for underprivileged children while on her way to becoming a sought-after country newcomer. "Compassion" is her most-streamed song on Spotify, but "Sober & Skinny" is her latest release.
Monroe's newest album is called Rosegold, and it represents a more progressive departure from her bluegrass- and country-rooted background. Talking to Taste of Country earlier this year, she said she and her Pistol Annies bandmates Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley are always writing songs together, and hinted that they could at least be thinking about their fourth studio album.
On Wednesday (July 14), Monroe began chemotherapy to fight Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Between 1,000 and 1,500 people are diagnosed with it per year, or about three per million people per year. The chance of diagnosis with WM increases with age — the average age of diagnosis is 70, though Monroe is only 34 years old — and it's more common in men than women.