Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Perform For Five Living Presidents at Carter Funeral
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed John Lennon’s “Imagine” at President Carter’s State Funeral yesterday (1/9) in Washington, DC, in front of five living presidents, including President Biden, who gave Carter’s eulogy.
Quietly stepping in front of the crowd of Washington’s A-listers and Carter family members, Garth strapped on his guitar and began singing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and Trisha joined him on the chorus. Brooks smiled at his wife standing next to him several times during the performance.
During the performance, the camera showed the President’s reaction, and Biden closed his eyes at one point showing reverence for his fallen friend of more than 40 years.
The camera also panned to George W. Bush, who was gently bobbing his head, and President-Elect Donald Trump, who closed his eyes at one point during the song.
The couple performed the same song at First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s funeral more than a year ago in Georgia.
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I asked Garth his thoughts on the passing of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in November of 2023 in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96.
Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, have spent a lot of time with the Carters in the last several years, helping the first couple build houses for Habitat for Humanity.
Garth got emotional when he told us of the former First Lady, “This is gonna be tough. President Carter calls Miss Yearwood his second favorite, Georgia Peach, so all I can think about, like everyone else in this room, is President Carter. You don’t say one without the other.”
He searched for the words, adding, “It’s tough. Miss Yearwood called her (Rosalynn) a quiet warrior. If you ever got to hang around her, President Carter always steals the show, and then when it comes time to hear her speak, she will walk to the mic, and you watch her; she won’t say anything for a few seconds. That’s how she was.”
Brooks continued, “Then you just watch the crowd start to lean in, and then what she says is very quiet but yet very powerful. And what she taught Miss Yearwood and what she teaches us all: the lion doesn’t have to roar, and your statement doesn’t have to be more than a few words to get your point across. She was great at that, and everyone loved her for that.”
