Lynyrd Skynyrd & Montgomery Gentry Sang Together On “CMT Crossroads” In 2004

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For years now, one of the most successful shows on CMT has been CMT Crossroads. The show pairs up country artists with artists in other genres, ranging from pop, to rock, to R&B. Then, the two artists perform a various assortment of one another’s major hits.

One episode of CMT Crossroads that still has people talking aired on December 10, 2004. During the episode, CMT paired up powerhouse country duo Montgomery Gentry with the legendary Southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The pairing was perfect, since although Montgomery Gentry are country artists, they are heavily influenced by Southern rock.

During the episode, the two groups played several of each other’s hits, but it was their performance of Skynyrd’s “Gimme Back My Bullets” that truly brought down the house. Originally released in 1976 off Skynyrd’s album of the same name, “Gimme Back My Bullets” has an interesting history behind it.

YouTube video

Although the title refers to the “bullets” Billboard would used to show how fast a song was moving up the charts, Skynyrd’s fans interpreted the word literally. So when Skynyrd used to perform the song, fans would throw actual bullets at them as they performed.

Because of this, Skynyrd removed the song from their typical setlist. But there was no fear of having bullets hurled at them when Skynyrd joined Montgomery Gentry to perform the song for Crossroads.

Eddie Montgomery started off singing first, roaring through the lyrics as Skynyrd’s rockin’ instrumental section surrounded him. Then Troy Gentry took over, with Skynyrd’s lead singer Johnny Van Zant briefly joining him to sing along. At the end, Johnny took command of the mic, and he was the one who closed out the jammin’ performance.

When you hear Skynyrd and Montgomery Gentry on “Gimme Back My Bullets” you’ll feel like they’ve always been performing together! Check out their performance below.

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