Blake Shelton's Grief Over Brother's Tragic Road Accident

Feb 01, 2020

Behind every seemingly happy and successful artist, we can be sure to find a story about heartbreak, hardship, or loss. In the case of country music star Blake Shelton, a guy many consider to be among the luckiest for various reasons, there is a tragic story of loss that he has never been able to get over.

Shelton is famously and romantically linked to the gorgeous and talented Gwen Stefani; many of his songs have topped the country music charts, and he is also a coach on the popular reality television series "The Voice," but he would happily trade all that just to have his brother back.

To understand the relationship Shelton had with Richie, his older brother, you have to think back to your childhood and the role models who captivated you. A basketball player, for example, would likely choose Michael Jordan. A feminist writer would choose Simone de Beauvoir. A guitar player may choose Bonnie Raitt along with Dick Dale. In Shelton's case, he looked up to his older brother Richie and no one else.

Richie Shelton was into country rock; he had excellent taste in music that he passed onto his little brother, and he was as cool as Steve McQueen. This was a guy who knew how to dress, how to talk, how to act, and how to make everyone feel at ease. Everything was effortless for Richie, and this is exactly who Blake wanted to be like when he grew up. You could say that Blake has achieved this goal, but he is a modest man who said in an interview with 60 Minutes that no one was as cool as Richie when he passed away at the age of 24.

Blake's role model died in a road traffic accident. Two other occupants of the car were also killed in the crash, reports The Boot. Not many people were aware of this episode in Shelton's life, at least not until 2014, when he talked about it at length during a television interview.

It is clear that Shelton has been devastated about this loss for many years, and he does not like to talk about it too much, but it actually forms the basis of a very famous song recorded by his ex-wife a few years ago.

Some people think that Shelton's hit song "Over You" was a sign of things to come with regard to his marriage to Miranda Lambert, but that was in 2011; that particular song is about accepting loss and letting go, something that Shelton told 60 Minutes he could not have done without the help of his father, a man who frankly explained that getting used to certain situations is the best we can do in terms of living our lives.

"Over You" is about Richie, but some people believe it is about the few years Shelton and Lambert were together. Lambert is currently married to a New York City police officer, and according to Country Living, Shelton is rumored to be getting ready to propose to Stefani, but "Over You" is not about the fated relationship between the two country stars.

If you have friends who enjoy Blake Shelton's music, ask them if they know about Richie Shelton as the inspiration for "Over You." You would be surprised how many still believe that Miranda Lambert was singing about divorcing Shelton in the future.