Joey Feek of Joey + Rory Gets Her Dream Come True Amidst Making a Gospel Album

Despite having Stage IV cancer and despite her struggles with chemo, Joey Feek of Joey + Rory are hard at work recording their new album of Gospel favorites.  One of the hymns that will be on the record is "Softy and Tenderly."  In celebration of Joey's birthday earlier this month, Rory has surprised his wife by giving her the gift she has had always wanted -- a horse.

"When Joey was in her early teens growing up back in Indiana, she had a horse named Velvet that she loved so much," Rory writes in his blog, This Life I Live. That horse passed away when she was 16.

"Joey's talked about getting another horse for years and has dreamed of owning one again, but she is so incredibly responsible that it just never made any sense for her or us to have one... our life was too busy, and we didn't have room, and hay is expensive, and lots of other really good reasons," he continues. "I'm not sure it makes any more sense today ... but I think sometimes that life doesn't have to make sense. And it might not seem like the best timing, but it is. Because the best time to love someone and make their dreams come true is today. Right now. So, after 24 years of waiting and hoping, Joey got a horse for her birthday."

He adds that they were actually given two horses, so her horse will have a companion, and so that he can ride with his wife when she is feeling stronger after treatments.

"So it looks like some guy in bib overalls may have to learn to be a cowboy for his cowgirl," Rory says.

Joey is the duo's lead vocalist, while Rory sings background vocals and plays guitar. The duo was the third-place finalist on CMT's competition Can You Duet in 2008. That same year, Joey + Rory signed to Sugar Hill/Vanguard Records, releasing their debut album The Life of a Song in late October. This album's lead-off single, "Cheater, Cheater", was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard country charts. Although none of their other singles have made top 40 on that chart, the duo has released six studio albums in total. 

In June 2014, Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer not long after the birth of the couple's daughter, Indiana, who was born with Down syndrome. In 2015, Joey was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer. 

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