Earlier this month, the country music world watched in awe as Carrie Underwood sang her heart out in honor of those who passed in 2017, at the 51st Annual CMA Awards.
Bridgestone Arena erupted into four minutes of candle-lit worship as the country queen sang a bone-chilling rendition of the classic Christian hymn “Softly and Tenderly.”
The “In Memoriam” tribute of the show featured singers, songwriters, producers and legends, before closing with the faces of all 59 victims of the Las Vegas attacks in October.
Among those remembered was one half of the country music duo, Montgomery Gentry.
Troy Gentry tragically passed away on Sept. 8 in a helicopter accident, just hours before the duo was set to perform in Medford, New Jersey. Gentry was 50 years old.
“A little piece of my soul got lost there,” Eddie Montgomery says of the day he lost his friend of 30 years. “It was a horrific day; my world changed as much as the band did. It’s something that you never get over. It’s going to be in my mind and my soul for the rest of my life.”