Montgomery Gentry didn’t just list Lynyrd Skynyrd as an influence, they actually got to play a whole set with them — and they captured it for posterity.
The country duo were just a few years into their big run of hits at country radio when they joined the southern rock legends onstage at the Factory in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tenn., to tape an episode of CMT Crossroads in November of 2004. The show pairs country acts with artists from other genres to join in on each others’ songs, and there has rarely been a pairing as natural as that one.
The duo of Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry brought a hard rock sensibility to many of their songs, including “Something to Be Proud Of” and “Gone,” two of the hit singles from their then-current album, You Do Your Thing. They joined Skynyrd for live versions of “Call Me the Breeze,” “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” a performance which is captured in the video above.
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Click the video to see how seamlessly Montgomery Gentry blend into the all-time southern rock classic. It’s a performance that really spotlights the rock edge that Troy Gentry brought to the duo, with his edgy spiked hair and rocked-out wardrobe that was way before its time.
Gentry died on Sept. 8, 2017 in a helicopter crash prior to a scheduled Montgomery Gentry gig in New Jersey. He was laid to rest in a public ceremony at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville that included performances from performances from Trace Adkins, Charlie Daniels, Little Big Town and Vince Gill.
Eddie Montgomery has taken off the rest of 2017 to mourn, but he did return to the stage at the 2017 CMA Awards as part of a tribute to Gentry. He plans to hit the road in January of 2018 to keep on bringing the songs he and Gentry created to their fans.
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This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TasteofCountry.com
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