The Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston makes plea for vaccines after dad dies from COVID-19

Jaren Johnston, frontman of Nashville country-rock trio The Cadillac Three, made a plea last week for COVID-19 vaccinations after his father died from virus complications.

Jerry Ray Johnston died Jan. 9 in Franklin of COVID-19 pneumonia after spending nearly two weeks hospitalized with the virus, according to a post from his son on Instagram. He was 65.

"My family and I are heartbroken," Jaren Johnston wrote last week on social media. "Dad, thank you for everything. I will still text you every time anything cool happens in my life. I will probably still call you every time I'm trying to take a back road short cut in Nashville to get somewhere quicker."

He continued, "And most importantly I will never forget how loved I felt my whole life."

A longtime musician who moved at age 24 to Nashville from Monroe, Louisiana, many in country music may recognize Jerry Johnston from his years playing drums in the Grand Ole Opry house band.

Jerry Johnston "chose to be unvaccinated and would've had a chance to live if he were," his son wrote online. He tested positive on Dec. 19, 2021, entering the hospital on Dec. 27, Jaren Johnston said.

At publication time, roughly 52% of Tennesseans have received full COVID-19 vaccination, according to the state health department.

"My [s]uperman went down in three weeks," Jaren Johnston wrote. "This virus is not a political joke. It is real. It is scary. And it has dug a big a six foot hole in so many people's lives, including mine."

Family buried Johnston during a private service in West Monroe, Louisiana. Arrangements for a Tennessee memorial service plan to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Music Cares, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Wounded Warriors Project or the charity of the donor's choice.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston pushes for COVID vaccines after dad dies