Oklahoma country singer-songwriter Jake Flint died hours after his wedding on Saturday, leaving his new bride shattered and heartbroken. He was 37. According to a report in the Oklahoman, Flint died on Saturday night in his sleep. The cause of the death has not yet been determined.
Flint and Brenda were exchanging wedding vows on Saturday in the area of Tulsa between Claremore and Owasso. They even posted a video taken at their wedding that showed the couple happily married. A few hours later, Flint died. Brenda shared her grief via Facebook on Tuesday, mourning her husband's death in a heartbreaking message.
Gone too Soon
Flint's death was announced by his manager Brenda Cline (the same name as his wife) on social media. "With a broken heart and in deep grief I must announce that Jake Flint has tragically passed away," Cline, wrote on social media Sunday night.
"I've tried several times today to make a post, but you can't comment on what you can't process," added Cline, who didn't reveal a cause of death for the Red Dirt performer and songwriter.
According to reports, the new bride Brenda is in shock after Flint's death, who is believed to have been in good health. However, she managed to make a Facebook post announcing her husband's death.
"We should be going through wedding photos but instead I have to pick out clothes to bury my husband in. People aren't meant to feel this much pain," she penned. "My heart is gone and I just really need him to come back. I can't take much more. I need him here."
A statement by his manager that Flint was prepared to carry on with his career path seems to be a reference to the fact that on December 2, he was scheduled to start a string of shows in Oklahoma and Arkansas that would have lasted until May 2023.
"I loved him much like a son. The funniest, most hilarious, hardest working, dedicated artist I have ever worked with in my career," Cline continued in her tribute. "We were just about to embark on some business together after he and Brenda got married — which was yesterday. Yes, yesterday."
According to Tulsa news radio station KRMG, Flint's new bride Brenda also shared a video that appeared to have been taken at their wedding and featured the singer dancing outside while hugging and kissing his new bride as a photographer captured the playful and touching moments. The caption on the video was just "I don't understand."
A Star in His Own Right
As news of his sudden and untimely passing spread Monday, it was clear that the Oklahoma music community was in shock and grieving. Flint's longtime publicist Clif Doyal reportedly was the first to confirm the singer's death.
"He was not only a client, he was a dear friend and just a super nice guy. As you can see from the outpouring on social media, he was loved by everybody. I think a lot of it was just that he was a people person, and he had an amazing sense of humor. He made everybody laugh, and he made everybody feel welcome," Doyal said.
"He was an ambassador for Oklahoma Red Dirt music."
Flint a Red Dirt singer/songwriter was from the rural Mounds, Oklahoma.
Flint, who was born in 1985 and was raised in Holdenville, an oilfield boomtown in South Eastern Oklahoma, was the son of a renegade oilman and a hard-working mother of two. He was relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where, according to Flint, he was always the "outcast country kid in the city."
Jake's father loved music and introduced him to artists like Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, John Prine, and John Denver as well as Dire Straits, James Taylor, and John Denver.
Flint, who struggled to fit in as a city kid, joined his elder sister's group and got a heavy dosage of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Foo Fighters' 90s grunge rock. In addition, he was exposed to whatever else he heard coming from his sister's room, including the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Guster, David Grey, and others.
Flint's initial exposure to music was a result of his father getting diagnosed with A.L.S., or Lou Gherig's Disease, which prevented him from being able to physically keep contact with his son.
Flint's father hired a couple of his lifetime best friends to teach his son to play the guitar and take him to local bluegrass festivals since he was worried about not being able to play sports with him.
Flint developed a passion for bluegrass music, which he quickly expanded to include jam bands like Phish, String Cheese Incident, and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. According to Flint's biography, this is when he first felt motivated to compose his own music.
The discovery of songwriters from the Texas and Oklahoma music scenes, including Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Boland, Canada, McClure, and Chris Knight, among countless others, marked Flint's new musical phase. Jake found himself, his creative inspiration, and started his own singer/songwriter career here.
According to information on Jake's website, his debut album was recently written and recorded at the Boohatch Studio in Ada, Oklahoma, under the direction of Mike McClure. As intended by Jake, the music on the album is reminiscent of the Great Divide and Cross Canadian Ragweed. They played every instrument on the album with assistance from Mike McClure, Taylor Reed, Jon Knudson from Whiskey Myers, and Jake's close friend Cody Woody.
He was known for hit songs such as "Hurry Up and Wait," "Long Road Back Home," "What's Your Name?" and "Cowtown."
