{{short description|American country singer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Joey Feek | image = Joey Feek (cropped).jpg | caption = Feek at the 45th Academy of Country Music Awards in 2010 | birth_name = Joey Marie Martin<ref name="ToC Obituary">{{cite web |first=Laura |last=McClellan |title=Joey Feek's Obituary Made Public |url=http://tasteofcountry.com/joey-feek-obituary/ |publisher=Taste of Country |accessdate=April 6, 2016 |date=March 7, 2016}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date|1975|9|9}}<ref name="nash">{{cite journal|date=March 28, 2016|title=Joey Martin Feek: A life well-loved|journal=Nash Country Weekly|volume=23|issue=13|pages=40–45|issn=2379-9137}}</ref> | birth_place = Alexandria, Indiana, U.S. | resting_place = Feek Family Farm Cemetery<br />Lewisburg, Tennessee, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|3|4|1975|9|10}} | death_place = Alexandria, Indiana, U.S. | occupation = Singer-songwriter | spouse = Rory Feek (m. 2002; her death 2016) | children = 1 | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed = yes | genre = Country, Christian country | instrument = Vocals | years_active = 2008–2016 | past_member_of = Joey + Rory }} | website = {{URL|http://www.thislifeilive.com/}} }} '''Joey Marie Feek''' (née '''Martin''', September 9, 1975{{spnd}}March 4, 2016) was an American country music singer and songwriter. From 2008 to 2016, the duo Joey + Rory comprised her and her husband, Rory Feek.<ref name="CCM Story">{{Cite journal|first=Andrew |last=Greer |title=Joey Feek – 'He needs me singing up there' |url=http://www.ccmmagazine.com/features/joey-feek-he-needs-me-singing-up-there/ |journal=CCM Magazine |accessdate=March 31, 2016 |date=March 31, 2016}}</ref>
==Life and musical career== Joey Marie Feek was born Joey Marie Martin on September 9, 1975, in Alexandria, Indiana, to Jack and June Martin. She was the fourth of five children: three sisters (Jody, Julie, Jessie) and one younger brother, Justin, who in 1994 died in a car accident.<ref name="nucountry.com.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.nucountry.com.au/articles/diary/august2009/300809_rory_joey.htm |title=Dave's Diary - 30/8/09 - Rory & Joey |website=Nucountry.com.au |date=August 30, 2009 |accessdate=September 15, 2016}}</ref> Her father, who played guitar, encouraged her to start singing and performing at an early age. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx2r54TuwAs |title=YouTube |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=September 15, 2016}}</ref> She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1998 to pursue a career as an assistant at a horse vet clinic, and established connections with LeAnn Rimes' father Wilbur, and Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn. At a songwriter night, she met songwriter Rory Lee Feek, whom she married in June 2002.<ref name="thislifeilive.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.thislifeilive.com |title=This Life I Live |publisher=This Life I Live |date= |accessdate=September 15, 2016}}</ref> She sang backing vocals on Blaine Larsen's 2004 album ''Off to Join the World'', which her husband co-produced.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Off to Join the World |others=Blaine Larsen |year=2005 |type=CD insert |publisher=BNA Records |id= 66012}}</ref> Joey was signed to Sony Nashville and recorded an unreleased solo album in 2005 titled ''Strong Enough to Cry'', but due to change in management and restructuring at Sony, the planned major label release for her album was shelved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nucountry.com.au |title=Welcome to Nu Country TV |website=Nucountry.com.au |date= |accessdate=September 15, 2016}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/just-say-yes |title=just say yes — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=April 7, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913123832/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/just-say-yes |url-status=dead }}</ref> The album, retitled ''If Not For You'', was eventually released by Farmhouse Recordings on April 7, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.soundslikenashville.com/news/album-review-joey-feeks-if-not-for-you/|title = Album Review: Joey Feek's 'If Not for You'|date = April 7, 2017}}</ref>
In 2008, a friend suggested that Joey and Rory try out for ''Can You Duet'', a talent show airing on CMT with the purpose of finding the next great country duo. They made an audition tape and came up with the name "Joey + Rory," and finished in third place on ''Can You Duet''. The duo were signed to Sugar Hill/Vanguard Records, who released their first three studio albums.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The duo released eight albums overall and charted a Top 30 Hot Country Songs hit with "Cheater, Cheater".<ref name="nash"/>
Expecting a baby in early 2014, the couple decided to spend the year at home.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/reading-ina-may |title=reading Ina May — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=January 24, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913130004/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/reading-ina-may |url-status=dead }}</ref> Their daughter, Indiana Boone, was born on February 17, 2014 with Down syndrome.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/we-were-born-yesterday |title=we were born yesterday — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=February 18, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913133501/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/we-were-born-yesterday |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/heart-check |title=heart check — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=February 21, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913132609/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/heart-check |url-status=dead }}</ref>
A few months later in May 2014, Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theboot.com/joey-rory-joey-martin-feek-cancer-surgery/|title=Joey Martin Feek Undergoes Surgery After Cancer Diagnosis|work=The Boot|accessdate=November 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229234940/http://theboot.com/joey-rory-joey-martin-feek-cancer-surgery/|archive-date=February 29, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> After surgery and treatment, she was declared cancer free and did not receive any radiation or chemotherapy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/home-of-the-brave-joey-courage-and-cancer |title=home of the brave - Joey, courage and cancer — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=June 25, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913131634/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/home-of-the-brave-joey-courage-and-cancer |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Cancer relapse== In June 2015, after the family had finished filming their movie ''Josephine'',<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/a-prayer-for-cancer |title=a prayer for cancer — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=June 14, 2015 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913133455/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/a-prayer-for-cancer |url-status=dead }}</ref> Feek was not feeling well again and sought medical advice.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> After undergoing further medical testing, it was discovered that the cervical cancer had returned and metastasized to her colon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countryweekly.com/news/joey-rorys-joey-martin-feek-battling-stage-iv-cancer|title=Joey + Rory's Joey Martin Feek Battling Stage IV Cancer|work=Nash Country Weekly|accessdate=November 16, 2015}}</ref> In July 2015, Feek underwent a second surgery to remove a 3-inch tumor (recurrence of cervical cancer) that had invaded her colon and surrounding structures. The surgery was long and involved and required the use of inter-operative radiation as there were tumors the surgeon could not get clear margins on.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/stage-four-love |title=stage 4 love — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date= |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913130102/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/stage-four-love |url-status=dead }}</ref> Still, the medical team was hopeful for Feek's situation, and she recovered from surgery to continue on to endure an intense round of radiation and chemotherapy in the summer of 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/ring-the-bell |title=ring the bell — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=October 3, 2015 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913133752/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/ring-the-bell |url-status=dead }}</ref> While undergoing treatment at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, she would record hymns in their hotel room for the last CD the couple would create together, ''Hymns That Are Important to Us''.<ref name="thislifeilive1">{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/a-song-to-sing |title=a song to sing — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=August 31, 2015 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913131330/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/a-song-to-sing |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In October 2015, Rory revealed in a blog post that Joey's cancer was terminal, and they were stopping all treatment as the chemotherapy and radiation she had suffered through for the last few months were not working. The MRI "scans revealed that two quarter-sized tumors had already grown back in the same area that they had been blasting daily with chemo and radiation [and] that many more smaller tumors were visible all throughout the abdominal region. She said that the cancer was aggressively spreading".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/enough |title=enough — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=October 23, 2015 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913131936/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/enough |url-status=dead }}</ref> There were no more treatment options available and all there was left to do was keep Joey as comfortable as possible for the time she had left.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theboot.com/joey-and-rory-joey-feek-stops-cancer-treatment|title=Joey + Rory's Joey Feek Stops Cancer Treatment|work=The Boot|date=October 23, 2015 |accessdate=November 16, 2015}}</ref>
By November 2015, Feek was in hospice care.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thislifeilive.com|title=This Life I Live|accessdate=November 16, 2015}}</ref> In January 2016, her morphine dose needed to keep the cancer pain under control had quadrupled.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/-rory-says-joey-feek-is-ready-to-come-home-to-god-in-emotional-post/ar-CCk3TP?li=BBnb7Kz |title=One Last Kiss: Rory Says Joey Feek Is 'Ready to Come Home' to God in Emotional Post |website=Msn.com |date=January 9, 2016 |accessdate=February 18, 2016}}</ref> She was able to celebrate Indiana's second birthday and Valentine's Day with her and Rory, see them receive a Grammy nomination for the song "If I Needed You",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/the-power-of-the-plus-sign |title=the power of the plus-sign — This Life I Live |website=Thislifeilive.com |date=January 28, 2016 |accessdate=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913131810/http://www.thislifeilive.com/the-blog/the-power-of-the-plus-sign |url-status=dead }}</ref> and see and hear the final recording the duo would make together, an album of hymns that she had always wanted to make that debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 when it was released, and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200 three weeks after its release.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/304865/joey-rory/chart |title=Joey + Rory - Chart history |publisher=Billboard |date= |accessdate=September 15, 2016}}</ref><ref name="thislifeilive1"/> She died on March 4, 2016, and Rory held a private funeral on their farm in Tennessee; Joey was buried in the family cemetery on the Feek farm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wthr.com/story/31389161/indiana-musician-joey-feek-dies-after-long-cancer-fight|title=Indiana musician Joey Feek dies after long cancer fight|author=WTHR Channel 13|date=March 4, 2016|work=wthr.com|accessdate=March 5, 2016|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306100851/http://www.wthr.com/story/31389161/indiana-musician-joey-feek-dies-after-long-cancer-fight|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/714632/joey-feek-dead-at-40-joey-rory-country-singer-remembered-as-loving-mom-after-battling-cervical-cancer|title=Joey Feek Dead at 40: Joey + Rory Country Singer Remembered as Loving Mom After Battling Cervical Cancer|date=March 4, 2016|work=E! Online|accessdate=March 5, 2016}}</ref>
==Discography== {{see also|Joey + Rory#Discography}}
===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title ! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details ! colspan="2"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"| Sales |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:45px;"| US Country<br><ref name="Country Albums">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/1525161/joey-feek/chart?f=320|title=Joey Feek Album & Song Chart History: Country Albums|publisher=Billboard|accessdate=August 20, 2010}}</ref> ! style="width:45px;"| US<br><ref name="Billboard 200">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/1525161/joey-feek/chart?f=305|title=Joey Feek Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200|publisher=Billboard|accessdate=August 20, 2010}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| ''If Not For You'' | * Release date: April 7, 2017 * Label: Farmhouse Recordings * Formats: CD, music download | 6 | 50 | *US: 69,000<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.roughstock.com/news/2018/09/43378-top-10-country-albums-sales-chart-september-24-2018 |title=Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: September 24, 2018 |first= Matt |last= Bjorke |date= September 24, 2018 |work=Roughstock |accessdate=September 27, 2018}}</ref> |- |}
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{Joey + Rory}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Feek, Joey}} Category:1975 births Category:2016 deaths Category:Deaths from cancer in Indiana Category:Country musicians from Indiana Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Deaths from cervical cancer in the United States Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Singer-songwriters from Indiana