Montgomery Gentry

Eddie Montgomery had "no clue" what was coming when he heard a voice telling Montgomery Gentry to stop playing during a performance Tuesday night at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. "Charlie Daniels, one of my heroes, had snuck into the audience and took his hat off so we didn't know it was him," said Montgomery. "They were running a little late and we had already played two songs, so we thought they were going to tell us just to cut it short. " Instead, Daniels asked them to join the Grand Ole Opry nine years after they made their Grand Ole Opry debut.

Eddie Montgomery loved NASCAR almost as much as he loved country music when he was a youngster growing up in Danville. Never did he dream, though, that he might be at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., one day as grand marshall for NASCAR's All-Star race along with partner Troy Gentry. Yet there they were saying, "Gentlemen, start your engines," to NASCAR's elite drivers before Saturday's race. "I never thought I would be a starter," Montgomery said. "That was just icing on the cake for a country boy like me. Just hanging out with the drivers was pretty wild and a dream come true.

NASHVILLE - Montgomery Gentry has a lot to celebrate this holiday season with its hit single, "Roll With Me," topping the Billboard and Country Aircheck country singles charts Monday. The fastest rising single for the duo to date, this marks the first ever back-to-back No. 1 hits for Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. "Roll With Me" is the follow-up to their most recent No. 1 smash, "Back When I Knew It All. " Montgomery Gentry now has had five No. 1 singles. The duo will perform the new hit live on "The Early Show" as well as their own special rendition of the holiday classic, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," on Thursday.

Country singer Eddie Montgomery teamed with the new organization Growing Roots in Danville to raise funds Saturday for the annual Christmas Toy Drive put together by the Danville and Boyle County fire departments. "It was a very kind gesture on their part," Danville Fire Chief Mike Thomas said of Montgomery and GRID, formed by the Danville/Boyle County Chamber of Commerce in an effort to create opportunities for outreach. Saturday's fundraiser at Boyle County High School was GRID's first event.

BIRMINGHAM -- Billy Gillispie already liked Montgomery Gentry's music before he became the basketball coach at Kentucky. But he likes it even more now because he's become friends with Perryville's Eddie Montgomery. The Kentucky coach still recalls heading to a coaching clinic in Las Vegas on May 12, 2007, shortly after he became the new UK coach. "I was getting on a plane and walking back to my seat. There in first class was Eddie wearing his Kentucky basketball shirt," Gillispie said here Thursday during the Southeastern Conference Media Days.

Until this year, Eddie Montgomery had never been to a Big Blue Madness. Even though he's a self-proclaimed die-hard University of Kentucky sports fan, his travel schedule had always prevented him from attending the festivities that start UK's basketball season. Last weekend, though, Montgomery Gentry didn't have a tour date and that enabled the country music singer to go to Rupp Arena with his family for Madness. "This was my first one, but from now on I want to go to every one of them," said Montgomery.

Until this year, Eddie Montgomery had never been to a Big Blue Madness. Even though he's a self-proclaimed die-hard University of Kentucky sports fan, his travel schedule had always prevented him from attending the festivities that start UK's basketball season. Last weekend, though, Montgomery Gentry didn't have a tour date and that enabled the country music singer to go to Rupp Arena with his family for Madness. "This was my first one, but from now on I want to go to every one of them," said Montgomery.

For Eddie Montgomery, being a member of the hottest duo in country music is a dream come true. But this self-described Kentucky country boy isn't basking in the glory of success; he's following through on plans to give back to his homeland. After growing up in far less than ideal conditions, fame and fortune came quickly when he teamed up with Lexington native Troy Gentry. Since gaining their first record deal in 1999, the pair has soared to the top of the industry and currently has the number one song on the country charts with "Back When I Knew It All. " One country music magazine has reported that Montgomery-Gentry is "slowly replacing Brooks & Dunn as country music's super duo. " "The Good Man above has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams," says the Perryville native while standing amid several pieces of earth-moving equipment in a field just south of Harrodsburg.

Sometimes it takes a different perspective to change the way you look at something. That's what one of the Advocate's summer interns, Richard White, has done for me the last eight weeks. White is a student at Prairie View A&M in Texas and was assigned here through the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute in Nashville, Tenn. White has basically worked with our online department. He has produced numerous videos at www.amnews.com and has been a constant shadow for Web content producer Emily Toadvine.