Eddie Montgomery on Troy Gentry's Death: It 'Still Blows My Mind'

Eddie Montgomery recently launched the Montgomery Gentry Here's to You Tour, his first run since the untimely death of his duo partner, Troy Gentry, in a helicopter crash in September. And while Montgomery knows Gentry would want him to continue on without him, that doesn't make Gentry's loss any easier.

"That still blows my mind that happened that day," Gentry tells Taste of Country. "We were all there and it just ... it wasn't good. Your whole world is just -- it changes. Everything. And there's not a day that I don't see it or it goes through my heart."

After Gentry passed away, Montgomery admits he struggled with knowing what to do, and how to move forward, personally and professionally, without his longtime partner.

"I had a lot of sleepless nights, and then I remembered a conversation that me and T-Roy had a long time ago. Of course, we put this duo together," he says. "Nashville didn't."

The 54-year-old ultimately decided to move forward, partly out of respect for what he knows Gentry would have wanted.

"I always thought I was going to be first," Montgomery says. "We talked about it because I like to live on the wild side — me and him both. I wanted to keep going because I know T-Roy would be right here going, 'I'm going to kick your ass if you don't get out there and keep this going.' I can't wait to get out and play the music."

Montgomery Gentry's latest album, Here's to You, will be released on Feb.2. The record includes the current single, "Better Man," which shows off Gentry's unmistakable voice. Pre-order Here's to You on Amazon and iTunes.

A list of all of the upcoming stops on the Here's to You Tour can be found on Montgomery Gentry's website.

Photo Credit: Instagram/MontgomeryGentry