'It just ripped my heart out': Mitch Rossell gets candid about losing father at the age of 10
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Mitch Rossell softly evoked the memories of his late father. In a recent interview, the country music star got candid about his father's tragic death when talking about his newly released album 'Son'. Mitch was just ten years old when he woke up in the middle of the night to the agonizing sounds of his mother sobbing he went downstairs and learned the awful news that his father died. The 35-year-old recalled, "I just started screaming. I just lost it. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that there's not a 10-year-old on the planet that's ever lived or will live that had a better relationship with their dad than I had."
His father, Roy Rossell, was killed by a drunk driver on a road in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, on January 21, 1998. At the time of his death, Roy was 31 years old. "It just ripped my heart out," Mitch said to People. "It was brutal." The 'All I need to see' singer now finds solace in talking about his beloved father, even though the grief still seems as intense as it did that awful night.
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"He was the greatest," Mitch said gushing about his father. "He was just so patient and so kind, and he always treated me with so much respect. He's literally the model for who I strive to be as a dad. He was incredible." Roy was just 21 years old when he had Mitch. The singer shared a picture of him visiting his father's resting place days before the release of his song 'Son', on his Instagram handle.
Mitch determined it was time to share some of his father's story, in 2016, "My first son was 6 months old at the time," He recalls writing "Son" along with fellow songwriter Dave Turnbull. "Dave actually had the idea, and it was finally like that gave me permission to even think about those things and access them, you know? I just don't think I was capable of it before that. It was too painful. Once we wrote it, I knew it was unique and I knew the impact it was having on every single person I played it for."
Mitch claims that despite this, he wasn't certain that he was ready to release the song. "It's so cool and crazy how God works and how music works and the healing that has happened for me through this song that I didn't even know I needed," says Rossell." He announced the release of his very personal song 'Son' on December 16, 2022, in his Instagram post.
Mitch, who's been climbing the country music ladder with Garth Brooks' unwavering support, might just turn the tearjerker of a song into a career-altering song. "Garth heard ['Son'] pretty early on and he just absolutely loved it," says Rossell, who served as the sole songwriter for Brooks' No 1 single, 'Ask Me How I Know'. He further added, "[Brooks' wife] Trisha [Yearwood] said the same thing. They just have always thought that it's a really powerful song. In fact, for a long time, they wanted me to get it out as soon as possible. I probably didn't get it out as soon as they thought I should, but I don't know. I wanted it to feel right in my gut."
The heartfelt song draws inspiration from real-life experiences Mitch has gone through throughout his life and tells a multigenerational story that is brimming with love, family, and grief. The East Tennessee native was given an enthusiastic standing ovation by the audience after his moving Grand Ole Opry debut on December 17, 2022, as per Music Mayhem.