Blake Shelton’s Heart Is ‘Absolutely Destroyed’ as He Mourns the Death of Earl Thomas Conley

Blake Shelton, along with other music personalities, paid tribute to Earl Thomas Conley on social media, as he passed away at age 77.

Country music singer-songwriter, Earl Thomas Conley passed away last Wednesday, at age 77. One of the first people to share the heartbreaking news was his good friend and fellow musician, Blake Shelton.

Shelton shared the news on his Instagram account, along with a photo of both of them, singing side by side.

“My heart is absolutely destroyed today… I’m sad to report that Earl Thomas Conley passed away very early this morning,” the caption read.

Conley was a well-known and influential country singer who has served as an inspiration to many in the same field. He started his career in the ‘80s where he made his first hit, “Dreamin’s All I Do,” which reached the Top 40.

He has 18 hits No. 1 country hits and 25 top 10 songs. Among his greatest hits are “Holding Her and Loving You,” “Right from the Start,” “What I’d Say,” and “I can’t Win for Losin’ You.”

He and Shelton collaborated in 2002 and later co-wrote the Top 20 song, “All Over Me.”

Country singer, T.G. Sheppard, was also one of those who would join Conley on stage on shows before.

“There are artists in our business that are great singers and stylists that you recognize, but just ever so often there are those special artists that have that voice that you know instantly when you hear the first word,” Sheppard told the Tennessean.

“Earl Thomas was one of those voices. And, he was always such a kind man. Once again, it’s going to leave a void in country music to lose a legendary artist such as him.”

John Rich also paid tribute to the country singer through a post on Twitter which read:

“He was a huge influence on my style and songwriting. I studied his records like textbooks and could play every note of every song. Truly one of the all time greats in country music.”

Before the singer passed away, his daughter shared a Facebook video of her singing a song she had written, which was inspired by Conley’s sickness.

“I wrote this song as my dad got more sick with time,” she said.

“I miss who my dad used to be all of the time, but this has taught me a lot about loving people while you have them and appreciating the little things.”

Conley had dementia which was addressed with hospice care, for the last few months. Conley’s brother, Fred, told the Tennessean:

“He just kept losing ground. I’m brokenhearted.”