Joey + Rory's 'Hymns' album tops country, Christian music charts; Rory ending singing career after wife's death

Joey Feek with husband Rory and youngest daughter Indiana when she was still with them in the flesh. (Facebook/joeyandrory)

Country singer Joey Feek of the duo Joey + Rory continues to make waves even after her death as the duo's album "Hymns That Are Important To Us" is now at the top of Billboard's Top Christian Albums and Top Country Albums.

Joey, 40, died on Friday after a two-year battle with cervical cancer. Her funeral, whose date remains unannounced, will be a private affair, reported Taste of Country, and she will be buried in a simple wood box on the Feek family property.

Joey would have been happy to hear about their album's success. Her obituary reads that the singer "didn't want her legacy to be her disease – she wanted it to be her beloved music."

Meanwhile, Joey's husband Rory and their three children are now back at their farm in Tennessee. Rory wrote on his blog This Life I Live that as difficult as it is to go back there without Joey, it is where they needed to be.

"It's hard for me to imagine being there without Joey, but at the same time...it is where she wants us to be," he said. "It's where she will be... She's (going to) be in the mint growing beside our back deck, the sweet-corn frozen in our freezer and a million other places that her hand and heart has touched around our little farmhouse and community. Joey will still be with us. Everywhere."

Rory said he plans to give up his singing career now that his wife is gone. Their last album "Hymns That Are Important To Us" was released on Feb. 12.

"No one is more surprised that our 'Hymns' record has sold this many copies than Joey and I," said Rory. "We haven't been promoting our careers at all. The only way I can explain the sales of this record is that it's a by-product of something bigger: love."

related articles
Joey and Rory Feek lose Grammy for Best Country Duo to Little Big Town
Joey and Rory Feek lose Grammy for Best Country Duo to Little Big Town

Joey and Rory Feek lose Grammy for Best Country Duo to Little Big Town

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory Feek says life with wife is not 'all sappy tears and Hallmark-movie moments'

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory Feek says life with wife is not 'all sappy tears and Hallmark-movie moments'

Joey and Rory Feek \'Hymns\' album soars to the top of country chart; this is \'God\'s record,\' says ailing singer
Joey and Rory Feek 'Hymns' album soars to the top of country chart; this is 'God's record,' says ailing singer

Joey and Rory Feek 'Hymns' album soars to the top of country chart; this is 'God's record,' says ailing singer

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory says wife  asleep for days, \'will most likely only be with us for a few more days\'
Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory says wife asleep for days, 'will most likely only be with us for a few more days'

Joey Feek cancer battle update: Rory says wife asleep for days, 'will most likely only be with us for a few more days'

Country artists mourn Joey Feek\'s death: \'A beautiful soul moved into heaven today\'
Country artists mourn Joey Feek's death: 'A beautiful soul moved into heaven today'

Country artists mourn Joey Feek's death: 'A beautiful soul moved into heaven today'

News
Pope seeks prayers for peace in Christmas Day message
Pope seeks prayers for peace in Christmas Day message

The Pope asked people to pray in particular for the "tormented people of Ukraine" in his Christmas Day 'Urbi et Orbi' message. 

Who was St Stephen and why is he remembered on December 26?
Who was St Stephen and why is he remembered on December 26?

The carol says, “Good King Wenceslas last looked out on the Feast of Stephen.” In many countries, December 26, also known as Boxing Day, is better known as St Stephen’s Day. Stephen was the first Christian martyr. This is the story …

King Charles reflects on pilgrimage, reconciliation and hope in Christmas Day address
King Charles reflects on pilgrimage, reconciliation and hope in Christmas Day address

King Charles III used his Christmas Day speech to reflect on the significance of pilgrimage as he appealed to the nation "to cherish the values of compassion and reconciliation". 

2 Timothy 3:16 is Logos' Bible verse of the year, Matthew was the most studied book
2 Timothy 3:16 is Logos' Bible verse of the year, Matthew was the most studied book

One of the most-studied Bible verses of the year is from 2 Timothy in the New Testament, according to an analysis of millions of Bible study sessions that tracked how believers worldwide are engaging with Scripture.