Joey + Rory

Donning stage attire that typically consists of boots, a collared shirt and overalls, 43-year-old songwriter Rory Lee Feek, who has penned hits including Clay Walker’s “Chain of Love” and Blake Shelton’s “Some Beach,” stands far apart from the quasi-rock styled twenty somethings that dominate CMT. In fact, Feek may be one of the least likely individuals to ever be vaulted into the national spotlight via a reality TV talent competition–let alone one aired by the aforementioned, MTV-owned network. That, however, is exactly what has happened to the husband-and-wife duo Joey + Rory, which consists of Feek and his wife Joey Martin. Together, Feek and Martin navigated all the way to the final episode of CMT’s Can You Duet before being outdueled for the crown by the years-younger Caitlin and Will. But with a feisty debut single already clawing its way into country radio playlists across the nation, and an album, The Life of a Song, in stores months before the planned release from the show’s victors, this duo–which hadn’t even been conceived prior to Can You Duet–seems like a winner, what with their time on the show being rewarded in the form of a record deal, national media attention, and an unexpected second chance for Martin, who was once signed to, and subsequently released from, Sony. Perhaps the greatest reward of all for their time on Can You Duet, however, is the fact that the couple now gets to experience the fruits of their labor together, as partners in art. They are, after all, already partners in essentially every other aspect of their lives, their deeply transcendent adoration of each other clearly evident. And so, despite the fact that Feek and Martin had never performed together as Joey + Rory before the show, their musical partnership doesn’t really seem all that unlikely. Without a doubt, Joey + Rory stands out in a country music crowd dominated by youth and the pop-leaning music that is often produced by those younger artists. The couple is older than most new artists–their ages would even make them ineligible to compete on that other reality show, the one that has launched the careers of Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler–and their music, often upbeat but at times heartbreakingly sad or less than politically correct, is, as Rory describes it, the “country kind” of country music often passed over when it comes to radio airplay and mainstream attention. Despite all of that, however, the one thing that makes Joey + Rory stand out most of all is their relationship with each other, a love so strong and glowing that it can’t help but seep into their music, their vocal harmony carrying that indescribable quality that only emanates from two people singing together who share a bond that stretches far beyond the singer/singer dynamic. These are two people, yes, who share an intense and intimate passion for singing, for storytelling, and for country music, but their passion for each other is what binds all of this together and renders the product of their talents in each of those areas uniquely their own. And if you don’t believe in love at first sight, or if you don’t believe that there are certain people in this world who are meant–by nature, by God, by some mysterious and unknown force of the universe–to be together, then you haven’t met Joey Martin and Rory Lee Feek, who remind us just how special and powerful love can be when two people get it right. By: Jim Malec, the9513.com