Eddie Montgomery addresses death of Troy Gentry for the first time

With the release of Montgomery Gentry’s new single to radio, Eddie Montgomery has broken his silence regarding the death of his musical partner, Troy Gentry.

“I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers,” Montgomery says in the statement released to radio stations accompanying the song, “Better Me.” “Our world was turned upside down in an instant, and nothing could have prepared us for this.”

“Over the past few months me and T-Roy have been working on what I think is the best record of our career. In the last few weeks we had been talking about what our first single would be. Then on September 8, none of that mattered.”

“‘Better Me’ is a song we all loved. It speaks volumes about his life and who he had become and everybody he touched and how much he loved his family. I am so proud of this song and also to call him my friend, my family, my brother for 30 years.”

Gentry died the afternoon of Sept. 8 in a helicopter accident before a concert in New Jersey. They Lexington native was remembered in an all-star memorial at the Grand Ole Opry Sept. 14 that a visibly emotional Montgomery attended, but he did not publicly speak. Vince Gill addressed Montgomery from the stage, telling him to lean on the Grand Ole Opry family as he heals from the tragedy.

The ceremony ended with a recording of “Better Me,” which features Gentry, who was 50, on lead vocals singing about putting wilder days behind him to get closer to God and family, a theme that was touched on numerous times by speakers in the memorial.

The song is from a forthcoming album that was planned to commemorate Montgomery Gentry’s 30 years as a duo.

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Eddie Montgomery addresses death of Troy Gentry for the first time."