Carly Pearce Honors Late Legend In Heartfelt Post: 'You Live On'

Carly Pearce shared the sweet way she honored late songwriter and record producer Busbee on his birthday on Wednesday (June 18).

Pearce posted photos on Instagram with Dave Clauss and Ben West with a birthday cake in Busbee’s honor. Busbee, whose real name was Michael James Ryan Busbee, died after a battle with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, in 2019. He was 43. Throughout his career, Busbee worked with Maren Morris, Keith Urban, Lady A, P!nk and other prominent artists in both country and pop genres. Pearce said it’s because of Busbee that she met Clauss and West nearly a decade ago.

“Somewhere between 2016 & 2017, busbee introduced me to these two guys and they quickly became small parts of my musical journey,” she wrote in her caption on Instagram. “Fast forward almost 10 years & today we finished vocals on my 5th album… just the 3 of us now making what is absolutely my favorite record I’ve ever made, on busbee’s birthday. We miss you, we love you… and there’s no way this is all by chance. Happy Birthday, busbee. You live on ❤️🪽”

Pearce’s fifth studio record will follow hummingbird, the 14-track record she released in June 2024. She expanded it earlier this year with a 19-track deluxe edition, hummingbird: no rain, no flowers, which included “country music made me do it,” “truck on fire,” “we don’t fight anymore” with Chris Stapleton, “if looks could kill,” “no rain” and more. Pearce co-produced her album for the first time, alongside frequent collaborators Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, when she brought hummingbird to life. The record followed Pearce’s debut album, Every Little Thing, her self-titled project, and 29: Written in Stone.