Stephen Wilson Jr. Reveals His Father’s Last Words To Him, & How That Inspired His Music Career

If you call yourself a fan of Stephen Wilson Jr., then you already know that his relationship with his late father is a driving force of his music career.

Considering who you ask, Stephen Wilson Jr. might be in the midst of his official breakout. I’ve been a big fan of his ever since he dropped his EP Bon Aqua in 2023, so I saw his time in the spotlight at the 2025 CMA Awards (his acoustic performance of “Stand By Me” really turned some heads) as a long-time coming for the talented and unique artist. The 46-year-old is as talented as they come, and he’s got a knack for crafting some of the most emotional country songs you’ll ever hear.

He really established himself in the country music space with his 2023 album son of dad, which focused heavily on his connection to his father, the grief that he lives with, and the life that he’s trying to lead as time marches on. In a recent interview with The Independent, Wilson Jr. explained that he’s comfortable covering the difficult topic of grief mostly because his father trained him to make friends with the somber feeling:

“Grief is something we’ve been trained to fear and perhaps avoid, like you need to get it out of you as quick as possible. He wanted me to understand that death is a part of life, and you can’t hide from it. I made that record in a great state of grief – I started making it the day he died – but I will never be able to relive those years.”

It was almost as if his father’s death was the moment that let him know he needed to be a musician.

Prior to becoming the CMA nominated artist that we know him as today, he lived many different lives. At first, he was a boxer – as his father had trained him to be. Then, he went to Middle Tennessee State University and studied microbiology. After he graduated with his bachelor’s degree, he went to work for the MARS company. Unaffiliated with space… rather, the MARS company that makes candy and pet food.

When Stephen Wilson Sr. passed, he changed course and immediately got to putting together son of a dad, as he went to say in the interview:

“I spent four years making this record about my deceased father, and I went through hell doing it, so it’s really profound for me to see the effect it’s had on people. I’m grateful for every message, they’re wind in my sails, because what I was doing back then just seemed so psychotic at the time.”

Why did Stephen Wilson Jr. drop everything and dive head first into music? Well, it had a lot to do with his father’s dying words that were directed at him.

His dad died in 2018 at the age of 59. While Wilson Jr. was opening for Eric Church at Red Rocks this past summer, he actually detailed the exact moment that he said goodbye, his father’s final words to him, and why he pivoted to music and has been chasing a “good song” ever since:

“My father passed away six years ago. He was my best friend, my corner man, my hero in life. I wear his name very proudly. Even though he is no longer here, he is very much here. I said goodbye to him on an iPhone 8 in the middle of Kentucky on the side of a highway. It was no way to say goodbye, but it was the way it was going to be.

His last words were, ‘Write a good song for me, Stephen.’ He said, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.’ Four times. Saying it more than once matters. I’ve been trying to write him one ever since. This is the closest thing I got.”

He then broke into “Father’s Son,” which in my humble opinion, is definitely a song that his father would be proud of:

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