Stout-native country singer shares song about mom’s battle with Alzheimer’s

Up-and-coming country singer Jay Allen – a 2004 Dike-New Hartford graduate and native of Stout who’s pursuing a music career in Nashville – has been making headlines recently with his new song: “Blank Stares.”

In his poignant and emotionally stirring new song, Allen shares the story of his mother, Sherry Rich, who is in the late stages of her battle with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

The song begins with a loving voicemail Sherry left on her son’s phone, which trails off as she forgets, hanging up only moments later.

In a phone interview from Nashville, Jay opens up about his song, “Blank Stares,” and how his family – father Joe (who still lives in Stout with Sherry) and sisters Cassie and Amber – struggle to find moments of connection with their mother in between the blank stares.

“My mom’s only 53, and we started seeing the signs of [early onset Alzheimer’s] when she was in her forties; but in the last few years it’s progressed really quickly,” Jay said.

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