The Cadillac Three‘s lead singer, Jaren Johnston, is mourning the loss of his father, Jerry Ray Johnston, who passed away from COVID-19 complications. Johnston shared the heartbreaking news on social media, along with a message to his fans about the vaccine.

“We buried dad yesterday in West Monroe, LA,” Johnston wrote earlier this week on Instagram, along with several photos of his father. “He was 65. He tested positive for COVID on December 19th, went into the hospital on December 27th, and died on January 9th. My family and I are heartbroken. Dad, thank you for everything. I will still text you every time anything cool happens in my life. I will probably still call you everytime I’m trying to take a back road short cut in Nashville to get somewhere quicker.

“I will try to learn how to make Mexican cornbread for Mom and Texa… and most importantly I will never forget how loved I felt my whole life,” he added. “I will make sure Jude feels that same love every day.”

Johnston also urged his fans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and to encourage their loved ones to do the same.

“And if you are reading this and have someone in your life that doesn’t want to get vaxxed for whatever reason, I will tell you this… My dad chose to be unvaccinated and would have had a chance to live if he were,” Johnston said. “My Superman went down in 3 weeks. This virus is not a political joke. It is real. It is scary. And it has dug a big 6 foot hole in so many people’s lives including mine. Not sure I’ll get over this one.”

Johnston credits his father with helping instill his love of music, thanks to his early years growing up in the church.

“I can remember my dad singing ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ and mum played with him, and I remember it was on page 579 of the hymnal book,” Johnston told Louder Sound last year. “‘Shine Jesus Shine’ became my favourite song for like ten years because my dad sang it. There’s a lot of memories that I probably still look back on every now and again.”

The Cadillac Three will join Miranda Lambert, and later Lambert and Little Big Town, on The Bandwagon Tour later this year. They will kick off their Hillbilly Hypnotized Tour on January 28. Find tour dates at TheCadillacThree.com.