Craig Morgan Reimagines His Hits in Collaborations With Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs & More: Exclusive
Written by djfrosty on September 25, 2023
Since his debut in 2000, Craig Morgan has become a multi-hyphenate entertainer. The military veteran and singer-songwriter scored the four-week Hot Country Songs No. 1 “That’s What I Love About Sunday” in 2005 (and notched six other top hits on the same chart), while also becoming an author and television personality.
But now, Morgan is teaming up with several of his musical buddies — including Luke Combs, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson — to reimagine some of his most renowned hits (along with a pair of new tracks) on the upcoming, six-song project Enlisted. The set will be released Oct. 20 on Broken Bow Records, Billboard can reveal.
The project originated with “Raise the Bar,” a new song Morgan wrote with Billy Dean, featuring vocals from Luke Combs. “I wasn’t thinking about doing a whole duet project at the time; I just wanted Luke on the song because I thought it was a great one for the two of us to do together,” Morgan tells Billboard.
After Combs laid down his vocal tracks on the song, the idea of an entire collaborative project quickly followed, and Morgan co-produced the album with writer-producer Phil O’Donnell.
“My management was telling me I should get someone to sing ‘Redneck Yacht Club,’ because it is such a fan favorite,” Morgan says, “and I thought, ‘Well, we just did this collaboration with Luke, so it makes sense to do a duets project.’”
Blake Shelton, who appeared in the original music video for Morgan’s “Redneck Yacht Club” smash in 2005, joins for a Jimmy Buffett-esque, tropical take on the song.
“Craig and I have been friends for many years,” Shelton says in a statement. “I’m a fan of his music and admire him as a human. After all of these years, I still don’t understand why he still feels the need to wear that toupee, but I’m thrilled he asked me to sing with him on ‘Redneck Yacht Club.’”
Morgan also teams with Trace Adkins on another new song, “That Ain’t Gonna Be Me,” which Morgan wrote with Wade Kirby, Trent Willmon and Phil O’Donnell. Gary LeVox, known for his work as part of trio Rascal Flatts, sings a soulful revamp of “That’s What I Love About Sunday.”
“I love R&B and I wanted to do something different with every one of these songs,” Morgan says. “I told everyone the same thing — sing as little or as much as you want. Have fun with it. And I love Gary’s singing, the soulfulness and the almost religious sound he delivers. It was easy — the hardest part with Gary was trying to find out which parts to use my vocal on, because he just sang all of it so well!”
The two current leading nominees at this year’s CMA awards — Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll—also join Morgan on the album. Wilson’s honey-twang vocals melt over the lyrics of “International Harvester.”
“It’s an absolute honor to be a part of this record,” Wilson says in a statement. “I remember the first time I ever heard ‘International Harvester’ and the feeling I got knowing that there was music being written that felt like it was made just for me. I come from a family of farmers, so it’s really a full circle moment to be on this track alongside my good friend Craig.”
A year ago, Morgan joined Jelly Roll onstage at the Grand Ole Opry to perform Morgan’s “Almost Home.” Now, they upgrade that performance to an official, emotionally charged recorded duet of the song. The song’s tale of a homeless man dreaming of being nearly home resonated with Jelly Roll.
The “Need a Favor” singer previously told Billboard, “I had got released from jail and it would end up being the last time I was ever in jail, which I am super proud of. And I came here because Craig Morgan had ‘Almost Home,’ and I would listen to it in my jail cell. My cell mates and I used to compare [that song’s story] to jail. You know, like in this horrible circumstance, but kind of mentally, you can always be almost home.’”
“I love the guy to death. Love his enthusiasm, his energy, his sense of gratitude,” Morgan says of Jelly Roll. “I feel like he truly is representative of how someone can be at their lowest point in their life and they can change that through faith, hope and kindness and that’s what he’s done. When he came in the studio — and this is a guy that has 50 people around him all the time — he drove up to the studio by himself, sang, hung out with us and it was awesome.”
The album’s title ties in with the recent news that Morgan enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Morgan also hopes that the project’s fresh recordings expand the influence of these songs to new fans of the genre.
“After COVID, there was this resurgence of the 2000s kind of music, so there were new fans hearing the music,” Morgan says. “With this, we wanted to maintain the sense of who Craig Morgan is with older fans, but at the same time, give them something new and create something for the new fans of the format now.”
See the full track list for Enlisted below:
1. “Raise The Bar” featuring Luke Combs
2. “Almost Home” featuring Jelly Roll
3. “Redneck Yacht Club” featuring Blake Shelton
4. “That’s What I Love About Sunday” featuring Gary LeVox
5. “International Harvester” featuring Lainey Wilson
6. “That Ain’t Gonna Be Me” featuring Trace Adkins