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Eddie Montgomery: "Troy Sings His Ass Off"

Why “Better Me” Is the First Last Song

Montgomery Gentry weren't sure which song would be the first single off their upcoming album. Until Sept. 8, when the decision was tragically clear. That's the day that the duo's Troy Gentry was killed in a helicopter crash at the age of 50.

And Eddie Montgomery is speaking up about losing his partner, and about the music from the album they'd worked so hard on.

"Hey everybody, this is Eddie. I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers," Montgomery writes in a letter in the latest issue of Billboard Country Update. "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," he says of what will now be the last album the duo made together. "In the last few weeks we had been talking about what our first single would be. Then on September 8, none of that mattered."

Montgomery adds that "Better Me" -- which was just released to country radio -- is the perfect song to mourn the man who stood beside him on stage for nearly 30 years. The two started performing together as Early Tymz back in 1990.

"'Better Me' is a song we all loved and Troy sings his ass off on it. It speaks volumes about his life and who he had become and everyone he touched and how much he loved his family.

"I am so proud of the song," he said, "and also to call him my friend, my family, my brother for 30 years."

"Better Me" was written by Jamie Moore, Josh Hoge and Randy Montana.

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