Craig Morgan tapped some of the biggest names in country music for his Enlisted EP. Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Trace Adkins, Luke Combs, Blake Shelton, and Gary LeVox all lent their voices to the project. Recently, Morgan has been sharing his behind-the-scenes footage of the songs coming together.
Videos by American Songwriter
Last week, Morgan shared a video of him and Jelly Roll recording “Almost Home” and yesterday he posted a clip of him and Adkins recording “That Ain’t Gonna Be Me” together.
“The Enlisted EP wouldn’t be complete without ‘That Ain’t Gonna Be My’ with my buddy Trace Adkins!” he wrote in the post. Then, he reminded fans they could listen to the EP on all streaming platforms.
The video shows Morgan and Adkins laying down vocals for the song. More than that, viewers see the pair of country titans hanging out, talking, and laughing like old friends. It’s a great look into the chemistry that comes through when these artists record together.
In a recent interview with American Songwriter, Morgan discussed how Adkins ended up singing on the track. Morgan recalled that everyone thought Enlisted was finished when this song took shape. “It was all done mastered, and turned in,” he said. However, he sat down with Trent Willmon, Phil O’Donnell, and Wade Kirby to write “It Ain’t Gonna Be Me.”
“I said, look, I want to put this song on this project. I know it’s just me singing, but I think it would be a nice touch, even if we do it as, like, a hidden track or something like that,” Morgan said. So, he stepped into the studio and started recording the vocals for the song.
“In the process of being in the studio, I said, ‘Y’all, what if we get Trace to do this?’ And everybody thought it was great and we called Trace and he came in and did it with me,” Morgan reminisced. Then, he recalled the moment he decided to make a major change to the song while working with Adkins.
“I said, ‘Y’all are going to think I’m nuts but I think Trace should start this song, not me.’ Even though it’s my song, my project, I think he needs to be on the front of it and that’s where we ended up.”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
