Joey + Rory's 'Hymns' album tops country, Christian music charts; Rory ending singing career after wife's death

Joey Feek with husband Rory and youngest daughter Indiana when she was still with them in the flesh. (Facebook/joeyandrory)

Country singer Joey Feek of the duo Joey + Rory continues to make waves even after her death as the duo's album "Hymns That Are Important To Us" is now at the top of Billboard's Top Christian Albums and Top Country Albums.

Joey, 40, died on Friday after a two-year battle with cervical cancer. Her funeral, whose date remains unannounced, will be a private affair, reported Taste of Country, and she will be buried in a simple wood box on the Feek family property.

Joey would have been happy to hear about their album's success. Her obituary reads that the singer "didn't want her legacy to be her disease – she wanted it to be her beloved music."

Meanwhile, Joey's husband Rory and their three children are now back at their farm in Tennessee. Rory wrote on his blog This Life I Live that as difficult as it is to go back there without Joey, it is where they needed to be.

"It's hard for me to imagine being there without Joey, but at the same time...it is where she wants us to be," he said. "It's where she will be... She's (going to) be in the mint growing beside our back deck, the sweet-corn frozen in our freezer and a million other places that her hand and heart has touched around our little farmhouse and community. Joey will still be with us. Everywhere."

Rory said he plans to give up his singing career now that his wife is gone. Their last album "Hymns That Are Important To Us" was released on Feb. 12.

"No one is more surprised that our 'Hymns' record has sold this many copies than Joey and I," said Rory. "We haven't been promoting our careers at all. The only way I can explain the sales of this record is that it's a by-product of something bigger: love."

related articles
Joey and Rory Feek lose Grammy for Best Country Duo to Little Big Town
Joey and Rory Feek lose Grammy for Best Country Duo to Little Big Town

Joey and Rory Feek lose Grammy for Best Country Duo to Little Big Town

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory Feek says life with wife is not \'all sappy tears and Hallmark-movie moments\'
Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory Feek says life with wife is not 'all sappy tears and Hallmark-movie moments'

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory Feek says life with wife is not 'all sappy tears and Hallmark-movie moments'

Joey and Rory Feek \'Hymns\' album soars to the top of country chart; this is \'God\'s record,\' says ailing singer
Joey and Rory Feek 'Hymns' album soars to the top of country chart; this is 'God's record,' says ailing singer

Joey and Rory Feek 'Hymns' album soars to the top of country chart; this is 'God's record,' says ailing singer

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory says wife  asleep for days, \'will most likely only be with us for a few more days\'
Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory says wife asleep for days, 'will most likely only be with us for a few more days'

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory says wife asleep for days, 'will most likely only be with us for a few more days'

Country artists mourn Joey Feek\'s death: \'A beautiful soul moved into heaven today\'
Country artists mourn Joey Feek's death: 'A beautiful soul moved into heaven today'

Country artists mourn Joey Feek's death: 'A beautiful soul moved into heaven today'

News
Government told to prioritise biological sex, not gender identity
Government told to prioritise biological sex, not gender identity

Staff in public services were afraid to challenge the new fluid approach to sex and gender, with many feeling that their workplace was a “hostile environment”

Belgian euthanasia stats continue to rise
Belgian euthanasia stats continue to rise

Belgian euthanasia levels reached yet another record high in 2024.

Free Church of Scotland concerned about Scottish Government RE plans
Free Church of Scotland concerned about Scottish Government RE plans

The Free Church of Scotland is concerned that faith will be "marginalised" in schools by the Scottish government

Catholic aid
Catholic aid "the hand of God" in suffering Mozambique

An Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province has claimed the lives of over 5,000 people, with many more forced to flee from their homes.