President Jimmy Carter Remembered, Garth and Trisha Honored to Perform

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are honored to have performed on Thursday during their friend President Jimmy Carter's state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

President Carter's funeral was acknowledged by a national day of mourning. A more intimate funeral followed in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where he died at home on December 29. He was 100 years old and the longest-lived president in United States history.

Every living president attended, including President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, former President Barack Obama, former President George Bush and his wife Laura, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, and President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump.

At President Carter's request, Garth and Trisha sang John Lennon's "Imagine."

"I am not sure there can be a greater honor," Brooks said when asked to participate.

On Tuesday, the President lay in state in the rotunda at the Capitol. Garth and Trisha were invited to visit.

"The chance to say goodbye and, more importantly, thank you to President Carter in the Capitol rotunda was one of the most powerful moments I've ever experienced," Trisha said.

"Miss Yearwood, with her hand on the coffin, was one of the most powerful moments I have ever witnessed," Garth added.

The funeral began when military officers carried President Carter's casket into the cathedral, proceeded by his family.  

President Carter's grandson, Joshua Carter, said his grandfather spent his lifetime devoted to those in need.

"He built houses for those who needed homes," Joshua Carter said, pointing to his grandfather's dedication to Habitat for Humanity. "He eliminated diseases in forgotten places. He waged peace anywhere in the world, wherever he saw a chance. He loved people."

When they sang the lyrics, "Imagine all the people living life in peace," Garth and Trisha knew it was a hope President Carter and Ms. Rosalynn held deeply. Garth and Trisha also sang "Imagine" at Ms. Rosalynn's funeral in 2023.