Chris Young Thanks Fans For Support After His Dad Suffers A Heart Attack

Chris Young’s stepfather, Michael Harris, suffered a heart attack over the weekend.

In an Instagram carousel posted on Monday, the country star shared an update with fans, revealing that his stepdad, whom he calls dad, is doing okay after the medical emergency, which occurred on June 29. Unfortunately, Young couldn’t be by his side as he was on the road. Despite the news, he continued with his show in Colorado, embodying the age-old phrase, “the show must go on.”

In his post, Young thanked fans for sticking by his side amid a tough show. 

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“Colorado! I don’t even have the words,” Young, 39, began. “On a day where my dad had a heart attack you lifted me up. I love country music fans. I’m happy I played. I’m happy my dad is ok. Much love to all of you.”

His Instagram post featured several concert photos, including a chilling image of him sitting on the edge of the catwalk, with fans illuminating the venue with their cell phone lights. 

Though they may not share the same DNA, Chris Young and his stepfather are extremely close.

In 2021, he shared, “Everybody is like, ‘Oh y’all look so much alike! And he’s my stepdad, but that’s who I refer to as my dad.”

When he was a boy, Harris came to Young and asked his permission to marry his mom. This left a lasting impact on the singer/songwriter, who admits he feels incredibly lucky to have Harris as a dad. 

“Basically, from the time he came into my mom’s life, my life, my sister’s life … he always treated me like a son,” he said. 

Harris has a history of health issues, including a previous heart attack. According to Taste of Country, Harris was also diagnosed with lung cancer. In 2011, Young reportedly shared, “My dad had a heart attack six years ago, and in the past year and half he’s been diagnosed with lung cancer. They cut a third of his lung out [and] put him through chemo. He’s actually doing really well. He’s doing great.” 

One thing that Young says he took away from witnessing Harris’ health struggles was the positive attitude he kept through it all. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever really seen him get down in the dumps,” he explained. “He was always one of those people that was like, ‘You know, power through it and just be happy with what you have when you have it.’ Every day he gets up, it’s a good day, and that’s something I really think I’ll pass on to everybody. Be happy with what you’ve got in life.”

The chart-topping artist tributes his father on his latest album, Young Love & Saturday Nights, through the song “Getting Older.” 

“Getting Older is a tune that a couple of my friends wrote,” Young recently explained. “And the only reason that I ever found it is because I was trying to write a song about my dad and I try it and try it and try it and just hadn’t gotten a good one yet. And I was writing with these guys and I was, we get to the end of the session. And I was like, Hey, do y’all have anything that you’ve written recently that you love? And this was the song they played me. I was just like, crap. That’s way better than anything that I’ve tried to write for my dad. I gotta cut this and definitely encapsulates, you know, how I look at my father.“

Chris Young is next scheduled to perform on July 4 in Nashville where he’s set to headline Musc City’s Let Freedom Sing! Event.