Eddie Montgomery Says His Sons + Troy Gentry Helped on ‘My Son’

Eddie Montgomery‘s powerful new song, “My Son,” has served as a catharsis for some of the old pain that the singer’s been carrying around for “a long time,” and he believes it happened that way for a reason.

The Montgomery Gentry singer has seen what seems like more than one man’s fair share of tragedy. He’s lost two sons; his 3-year-old son died in a car accident in 1991, and his 19-year-old son, Hunter, died following an overdose in 2015. Montgomery lost his duo partner and best friend, Troy Gentry, in 2017 when he died in a helicopter crash, and he tells People that writing “My Son” has helped ease some of that pain.

“It was hard at first but for some reason, this song eased a little bit of the pain that I’ve been carrying around for a long time,” Montgomery states. “A lot of us love people and we try to keep our private life our private life, but when you are hurting a bit, that hurt can come through a pencil — and that’s when you know you got to let it out. So that’s what I did.”

Montgomery collaborated with Noah Gordon on “My Son,” which appears in the new Western film Old Henry. He originally took his inspiration for the lyrics from the film, but it turned into something else during the writing process, taking on a more personal tone.

“I’m not going to lie to you…I think my sons and T-Roy helped me write this song,” Montgomery says. “They helped me get down to the heart of it, which then went right through my arm and into my hands. It’s a song that’s very dear to me.”

“My Son” will also be part of Montgomery’s upcoming solo album, Ain’t No Closing Me Down. The album features the Wild Bunch, who served as Montgomery Gentry’s backing band for 20 years, and Tanya Tucker makes a guest appearance on a track titled “Higher.”

Though it marks his solo debut, Montgomery says the new project also honors Gentry’s legacy.

“Troy is with me and will always be with me. He helped me write this album,” he says in a press release. “I got together with some of my best songwriting buddies and we wrote about life — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the party on the weekends.”

Ain’t No Closing Me Down is set to drop on Oct. 29. See the cover art and tracklisting below.

Eddie Montgomery, Ain’t No Closing Me Down Tracklisting:

1. “Ain’t No Closing Me Down” (Eddie Montgomery, Chris Wallin, Ira Dean)
2. “Alive and Well” (Eddie Montgomery, Chris Wallin, Ira Dean)
3. “My Son” (Eddie Montgomery, Noah Gordon)
4. “That’s the Kinda Man I Am” (Eddie Montgomery, Kim Tribble, Ira Dean)
5. “Higher” Feat. Tanya Tucker (Jim “Moose” Brown, David Wade, Shane Grove, Erik Michael Westfall)
6. “Play That Game” (Eddie Montgomery, Ira Dean, David Lee Murphey, Justin Weaver)
7. “Kickin’ It Up” (Eddie Montgomery, Chris Wallin, Ira Dean)
8. “She Just Loves Me” (Eddie Montgomery, Chris Wallin, Ira Dean)
9. “Sounds Like a Tuesday” (Jeffrey Steele, Wyatt Durrette, Stephen Wilson)
10. “Cry Whiskey” (Eddie Montgomery, Chris Wallin, Ira Dean)
11. “Ain’t She Beautiful” (Walker Montgomery, Chris Rafetto, Brendan Cooney)
12. “Somewhere South” (Tony Lane)