John Anderson’s last-ever appearance was a star-studded one. Days before he died, the country singer stepped out to attend the Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee.
While there, he was photographed with fellow attendees including Tim McGraw and Ricky Skaggs. Anderson’s last photo of the day, however, was with The Oak Ridge Boys’ William Lee Golden, the singer claimed on X.
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Not only that, but Golden said that the special pic, which is now believed to be Anderson’s final photo, was taken by country star Tanya Tucker.
Golden shared the photo in question on social media. The pic shows the two men backstage at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Golden also posted a selfie that he, Anderson, and Tucker took together.
Country Stars React to John Anderson’s Death
Three days later, Anderson died peacefully in his sleep. He was 71. Golden reacted to the sad news on X, writing that he was “shocked and stunned” by Anderson’s death.
“We talked for several minutes Sunday evening at the annual Country Music Hall of Fame Induction & Medallion Ceremony,” he wrote. “Such sad news.”
McGraw expressed similar sentiments in his own post about Anderson.
“I was talking with John Sunday night at the HOF ceremony. He was in such good spirits. We talked, we laughed, we sang his songs that I loved so much together, just goofing off,” McGraw wrote. “I am completely heartbroken by his passing.”
“There will never be a stylist in music, any music, that was so defining as his. It’s just devastating,” he continued. “All of our love goes out to his family and the country music community. He was and is one of the defining voices in country music. So great. I am completely shook.”
Blake Shelton, who also attended the event, was likewise left “sick and stunned” by Anderson’s death.
“I am a very lucky man. I got the opportunity to find out that my hero wasn’t just the guy I hoped he’d be. He was so much more than that. John was my friend,” Shelton wrote. “I got to see him last Sunday and I don’t even know why but I told him I loved him. That is what fills my heart in this moment.”
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
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