Granger Smith: Everything to Know About the Country Music Singer

Granger Smith made headlines on Thursday for a reason every parent fear: his 3-year-old son, River, died after a tragic drowning accident according to PEOPLE, which Granger announced online after canceling a planned concert after the incident. Smith addressed the loss of River on social media.

“Following a tragic accident, and despite doctor’s best efforts, he was unable to be revived,” Smith wrote. “Amber and I made the decision to say our last goodbyes and donate his organs so that other children will be given a second chance at life.”

While the loss would hit any parent hard, Smith and wife Amber have almost infused family with career to this point, with the musician noting that being a family man comes first. A look at his career makes this aspect quite clear.

Breaking Through

Smith first broke through in 2013 with his debut album Dirt Road Driveway. According to PEOPLE, the album peaked at 48 on the US Billboard 200 and dropped the singles “Miles and Mud Tires” and “Bury Me in Blue Jeans,” embedded above.

What you’ll notice immediately is the presence of Smith’s family in the video. Their cameos are commonplace through his videos, something he explained to PEOPLE back in August.

“They’ve literally been watching mom and dad in these music videos since they were infants,” he told the outlet. “They’re willing, and they want to, and they always want to be with us. There they are, and hey, you know, it’s perfect. I guess it’s just who I am. Family is everything to me.”

Alter Ego

The other aspect of Smith’s career that stands out is his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr. The “yee-yee” Redneck with the pouch of Red Man and gun hanging in the back window of his pickup has been a staple in some of Smith’s videos and makes some promotional appearances too.

“Earl started as a promotional tool… [He] was a voice, I hadn’t used that voice for years,” Smith told Country Countdown USA according to PEOPLE. “I wrote a song called ‘The Country Boy Song,’ that was his day put to music. That song we released as a music video, went twice as viral. At that point, I thought Earl needs to be part of the show. We have not looked back since that day.”

Love And Marriage

Long before he had broken through on the charts, Smith was married and aiming to be a top-tier father to his children. Smith and his wife Amber were married in 2010, but met when she walked in to audition for one of his music videos in 2009. As he told PEOPLE, “When she walked in, that was it.”

He popped the question only 7 months later and the pair never looked back.

A Family Affair

The couple soon started building a family together. Daughter London, 7, was first to join the group, followed soon by son Lincoln Monarch, 5. River joined the family only two years after. Smith never hesitated to show how much his family meant to him or to share the love around.

“This sums it up. Me chillin. And then her with 3 monkeys climbing all over her,” he wrote in a Mother’s Day post about Amber. “She does it day in and day out with that love for them that only a mother can understand, but she also does it out of a love for me because she knows that so many times my work takes me away from home.”

Performing Accident

Outside of his family, Smith might be known for his accident on stage back in 2016. He took quite the spill and ended up “breaking two ribs in his back and puncturing his lung” according to PEOPLE.

“I feel great, full motion, and now looking back on this time, I’m better because of it in a lot of ways,” Smith told PEOPLE in 2017.

Tragedy

But it is the loss of his 3-year-old son that might hurt worse than any stage dive or injury ever could. There is no doubt that Smith will bounce back in his career, but you can see how much his children and wife have meant to him for close to a decade now.

The loss of River is a tragedy and one that seems to happen too often these days. Hopefully the family is able to find some peace at this time.