Three of the best.
Today, Tanya Tucker, Dennis Quaid and the late, great Kris Kristofferson put out a gospel song together called “On My Way to Heaven,” which was written by Quaid for the 2018 film I Can Only Imagine, which he originally started back in the 90s. It was inspired to be a tribute to his late mother, but he never finished it.
When he got the role in I Can Only Imagine, the inspiration hit him to finally finish the bridge of the song, which he also put out as a single with his band, DQ and The Sharks, as part of their 2018 album, Out of the Box.
The 72-year-old actor moved from California to Tennessee in 2020, and he previously told Fox News Digital about his move, saying that after living in Los Angles for decades, he became tired of the city and how it was being managed. Quaid insists that the cracks were really starting to show in the past five years or so, and the problems were only exacerbated when the wild fires hit in early 2025:
“It used to be such a great town and the ’90s was nice. And then it’s been kind of going downhill and I feel like people pay these taxes for no services is what it gets down to. And then fire happens and it kind of exposes all those things that go on that should be taken care of. So people are… people are angry and half angry, and they’re half kind of feel like giving up, to tell you the truth.”
Quaid and his wife, Lauren Savoie, still have a house in the Los Angeles area, but is now is primary residence is in Music City.
It’s very widely known that he and country music legend, Tanya Tucker, are great friends. They’ve even worked together on a handful of projects, and for Quaid, he says it all stems from being raised on country music:
“That’s the way country music has always been, and it’s grown. I grew up on country music, really, with Hank Williams. And my dad would listen to it in the car, the truck on his way to work, because it appealed to working people back then. And it was outside of rock and roll, but it influenced everything. I can’t think of a genre that’s bigger. Everybody loves it.”
And one of those projects is the aforementioned song he wrote, “On My Way to Heaven,” which is now a tune that features three great entertainers, and two of country music’s best artists. Of course, Kristofferson sadly passed away in 2024, so I’m assuming at least he and Tucker, who were great friends, recorded this at some point before that and had potentially planned to put it out sooner.
Of the collab, Tanya Tucker says:
“This film and song have such a deep message, and I want to share this song and film with the world. Everybody needs to hear it, because it’s for everyone. Because hopefully, we’re all on our way to heaven. When we started working on the project, I had an opportunity to work with Kris Kristofferson. This is one of the last projects he worked on before he went to Heaven. And I’m so grateful we had that opportunity. Dennis Quaid also starred in the video and he wrote the lyrics. John Carter Cash directed it. It was a once in a lifetime moment to make a piece of art with a group of artists and creatives. That will never happen again. It’s a beautiful moment frozen in time.”
Dennis adds:
“Recording ‘On My Way to Heaven’ with Kris Kristofferson and Tanya Tucker was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I wrote this song as a reflection on redemption, sobriety, faith, and the journey of finding peace after life’s struggles. Having Kris lend his voice to it during what became his final recording session was an extraordinary honor and something I’ll always treasure. Kris brought a depth, wisdom, and authenticity that only he could. Sharing this moment with both Kris and Tanya made the song even more special, and I’m deeply grateful to have been part of creating this lasting musical memory.”
In each of their domains, these three are (and were) the best of the best, and it’s cool that they have such a heartfelt song together now.
Check it out:
“On My Way to Heaven”
Here’s the version from the movie:
