Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood They paid their respects to former President Carter and honored their friendship with the US leader on Thursday.
Brooks and Yearwood wore all black while singing John Lennon's “Imagine” at the end of the film Carter's funeral at Washington National Cathedral on January 9. The couple has maintained their friendship with the former president over the years.
“President Carter, the legacy you and Rosalynn have left us is as beautiful as the life you lived,” Brooks said in a statement released shortly after Carter's death.
“Thank you for your lifelong service to our country and the world. You have inspired us not only with what you said, but with what you built. We love you.”
Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks hold hands after performing during a concert honoring Rosalynn Carter in November 2023. (Brian Anderson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
The former president reportedly asked Brooks Yearwood to perform the song at the funeral. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Carter Center for comment.
Brooks Yearwood She performed the same duet at Rosalynn Carter's funeral in November 2023. Rosalynn's service was held at Emory University's Glenn Memorial Chapel in Atlanta. The couple wore all-black outfits for the sad occasion.
At the time, Brooks spoke highly of Rosalynn and shared how close the former first lady has become with his wife over the years.
“They were inseparable,” he explained in a press conference, according to Al-Youm. “Miss Yearwood called her 'the quiet warrior.'
He expressed his admiration for Carter's wife, telling reporters: “If you hang around her, President Carter always steals the show, and when it's her time to speak, she'll turn to the microphone. He says very quiet but very powerful.”
Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks perform at a memorial service for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on November 28, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Brooks Yearwood met the Carters, who work for Habitat for Humanity. The former president and his wife first began working with the charity in 1984. The couple led a renovation project for a 19-unit apartment building in New York City.
The country music stars became involved with Habitat for Humanity years later, after Hurricane Katrina left devastation in New Orleans.
Trisha Yearwood, former President Carter, Rosalynn Carter, and Garth Brooks work for the Habitat for Humanity project. (Habitat for Humanity International/Jason Astros)
“After Hurricane Katrina in 2007, we fell in love with Habitat for Humanity,” Yearwood told People magazine in 2023. “We knew we loved the Carters, and we fell in love with them even more once we got the chance to work with them.” I love what Habitat for Humanity is about – it's about spreading love.
“To whom much is given, much is expected,” she added. “We'll never fill their shoes, but we're doing our best.”
Brooks and Yearwood were also “inspired” by Carter and Rosalynn's 77-year marriage.
“They inspired us in so many ways, in the ways you would expect — humanity, humility, work ethic,” Brooks told People in 2023. “But they also inspired us with their example as husband and wife.”
“We've been working alongside them for the past 15 years, and you immediately notice that they're bickering back and forth about the right way to do things. This kind of work suits us too!”
Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks were “inspired” by the marriage of President Carter and Rosalynn Carter. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for iHeartMedia)
In 2019, Brooks Yearwood performed at the Grand Ole Opry with Carter as part of a Habitat for Humanity project. Carter and his wife were in Nashville building homes with the organization.
“We got more out of Habitat than we ever put into it,” the former president said during the Opry's closing ceremony, according to Opry.com. It was one of Carter's last visits to the legendary Ryman Auditorium.
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood introduce former President Carter and Rosalynn Carter at the Grand Ole Opry on October 11, 2019 in Nashville. (Larry McCormack/Nashville Tennessee via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
Carter wasn't just close to Brooks and Yearwood. The former leader of the United States had a handful of celebrity confidants. He spent time with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Gregg Allman, Johnny Cash, and Jimmy Buffett, to name a few.
“They inspired us in so many ways, in the ways you would expect — humanity, humility, work ethic. But they also inspired us by their example as husband and wife.”
Willie Nelson was joined on stage by former President Carter, who played harmonica on “Georgia on My Mind” at Chastain Park Amphitheater on July 27, 2008, in Atlanta. (Rick Diamond/Staff/Wireimage)
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Garth Brooks, Rosalynn Carter, Trisha Yearwood, and President Carter form a friendship through Habitat for Humanity. (John Shearer/Getty Images)
Brooks Yearwood recently attended the 2024 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Action Week Project to celebrate Carter's 100th birthday in St. Paul, Minnesota. Habitat for Humanity hosted the week-long event, which focused on building homes and raising awareness of affordable housing.
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“He definitely wants to know that we're working, that's why we're here,” Yearwood told People magazine in October. “He has a legacy of service, and he's never stopped serving.”
“He's not physically standing here building and swinging a hammer. But we feel his presence and Ms. Rosalyn's presence strongly. We're just volunteers, but everyone on this site feels this responsibility to make him proud.”
Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalynn at a Sotheby's auction on October 4, 1983. (Yvonne Hemsey/Communication Agency)
A Boy Scout troop salutes as they pay respects in front of a flag-draped casket at a memorial service for former President Carter on January 8. (Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images)
Carter entered hospice care in February 2023 and died on December 29, 2024.
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The former president passed away He was surrounded by his family about 22 months after entering hospice care at his home in Georgia. Carter suffered from metastatic melanoma in 2015. He was treated for the melanoma with surgery, radiation, and immunotherapy at the age of 90.
