ALBANY — After spending several months at a rehab center in the Atlanta, Georgia area, Jeremy Teague’s homecoming back to Louisiana has been an answered prayer for many, but especially his wife and children. And with that answered prayer, comes a new one: a song rising from the ashes.
Just over eight months ago, Jeremy Teague was a worship leader, songwriter and enjoyed creating music with his family. At 44, Teague was described as “vivacious, funny” and holds a host of titles like husband, son, father, and soon-to-be grandfather.
However, he and his family’s world flipped upside down in just a matter of moments.
In February, Teague was at a complete stop when his car was struck from behind. The crash involved four vehicles, and Teague sustained severe, life-changing injuries from the impact. He was cut out of his vehicle with the Jaws of Life and rushed into surgery.
Teague had a C4 Asia A spinal cord injury, and the nerves in the tendons between his C3 and C4 vertebrae (located near the neck) were severed, his sister-in-law Audra Adams originally told UWK.
He was paralyzed and accepted into the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a renowned rehabilitation facility for spinal cord injuries. He was there until he graduated from the facility in August, when he got to go back to his own house, newly renovated by loving friends and family.
Teague has written and recorded songs in the past, which have been available on multiple streaming platforms, but hasn’t released anything in the past year. Jaycee Teague, his daughter, has been working hard for months to release something new from her dad.
“Ever since I was young, I’ve loved music too, and it’s kind of been our thing, between me and him,” she said.
Before the crash, Jeremy Teague had been working on recording a song with his daughter. He wrote the song’s lyrics and Jaycee worked on the music portion.
She had put down the guitar track and her dad had sung over it, but that was all they had gotten finished before that fateful car crash on February 18th. The song was essentially only in demo form at that point, she said.
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After the accident, Jaycee decided she was going to work hard to finish up and publish the song to help encourage her dad. Music has been a huge part of his life, from leading worship to creating songs and singing with his own family.
“He can’t sing anymore, and that’s one thing that he struggles with a lot, so I’m getting the song finished for him,” she told UWK.
However, even through this disappointment, Jaycee said her dad has remained positive because he’s “leaning on God” and still “praising God through it.”
The song he wrote is called “The Shepherd” and is based on the biblical parable of the lost sheep, Jaycee explained.
She hopes that the finished song will not only be an encouragement to her dad, but to everyone who hears it and knows about her dad’s journey of healing. Jaycee also finds the connection of the song’s title, written before February’s crash, encouraging.
“I think it’s so cool that the song we’d been working on prior to the accident was called ‘The Shepherd’ and the rehab location he went to was The Shepherd Center,” she said.
Finishing touches & release date
Before the car crash, Teague had recorded a “scratch track” over Jaycee’s guitar track. However, some of the words in the demo’s vocal track were missing the “S” sounds, she explained.
Because the tracheostomy device he must use prevents Teague from being able to sing, she wasn’t able to re-record her dad singing the song’s words. He is able to take the device out to speak with his loved ones, however.
While he was at The Shepherd Center, Jaycee was able to bring her recording gear into his room to record him making “S” sounds to add into the tracks.
In addition, Jaycee and the friends helping her were also able to record her mom, Teague’s wife, singing harmony on the song.
“That was emotional for her because she felt like she was singing with dad again,” Jaycee said.
While she wishes they had been able to work on and record more songs before his accident, Jaycee said she is proud to finish one more song for her dad.
“The Shepherd” will be released on Friday, Sept. 5 on all music streaming platforms. Follow and download the song here.
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