Montgomery Gentry's new album, Here's to You, is symbolic. Completed just two days before Troy Gentry's devastating helicopter accident on Sept. 8, the project honors not only Gentry's memory, but Eddie Montgomery's will to keep going.
In an interview with Taste of Country Nights, Montgomery reveals that the duo listened to thousands of songs in preparation for Here's to You, their first album release since 2015's Folks Like Us. When Gentry heard "Better Me," the album's lead single, he had an instant passion for it.
"But when we had that song, T-Roy come to me — that's what's so very weird about it — is he came to me and he said, 'I really, really want to sing this song,'" Montgomery recalls, and he fully supported his friend's wish to sing the track.
He and Gentry had had a conversation years ago about what they'd do if something ever happened to either one of them, so Montgomery already knew he had to carry on with the music when T-Roy died.
"We had talked about this after we had got our deal and stuff and said, 'Man, if either one of us ever go down, we want Montgomery Gentry to keep going' — we told each other that," Montgomery says. "And that's what's so weird about it, because it was just kind of something we talked about a long time ago and just kind of put it off and didn't think nothing about it, and then this happens."
Montgomery Gentry is currently on tour in support of the new album and will be through September. Though he may take the mic solo, Montgomery has his band of more than 20 years backing him up, and he knows his longtime friend and brother in music will be there in spirit.
"We're going to keep it rockin' and T-Roy will be right there with us," he says. "I guarantee it."