Craig Morgan is reflecting on his friendship with fellow Grand Ole Opry member, Luke Combs. 

While chatting with Country Now at the recent Luke Combs Bootleggers Bonfire, Morgan admitted, “I love the guy to death” and recalled meeting with Luke Combs at a local coffee shop just before he was about to embark on his first major tour. 

“We became friends before his career actually just took off. I remember sitting in a little coffee shop in Dixon and where we both lived at the time, and sitting there and him talking to me about going out on tour the following year. This was pre-Covid and he was talking about having to take more buses and trucks and how nervous he was,” Morgan shared. 

The “International Harvester” singer remembered giving him a simple, yet impactful piece of advice. “I’m like, ‘just ride the ride buddy and enjoy. You’re going to kill it.” 

Morgan said he had “a lot of confidence” in Combs from the moment he first met him. 

“I knew from the get go he had something really special,” he explained. “He is a very gifted individual and not just with the songs, but with who he is. He’s a good dude and he cares about this industry. He cares about the music, he cares about the fans. He has all of the elements that are needed to create superstardom and he’s doing it.” 

He went on to praise Combs not only as an artist, but also as a person.

“He’s just a sharp guy. I consider Luke a real good friend. He’s the kind of guy I can call…And that’s what I love about Luke. If Luke and I were not in this business, Luke and I would still be friends,” he promised. 

Morgan and Combs have quite a history together. On June 11, 2019, Morgan was one of the Grand Ole Opry members who had the opportunity to invite Combs to officially become a member of the coveted institution. Morgan was also there on July 16, 2019 when Vince Gill inducted him into the Opry. 

Years later, Morgan and Combs joined forces to record the song “Raise The Bar,” which appears on Morgan’s star-studded collaborations EP, Enlisted. 

In a previous interview with Country Now, Morgan revealed that he originally planned to pitch the song to Combs, however, decided to keep it for himself and instead ask Combs to join him on it. 

“I’ll be honest, this song is more in line and in the vein that Luke is than probably me even more so. But the thing is, I love the play on words. We’re here to raise the bar, we’re here to make things better. And I’m not trying to pigeonhole Luke and say that he’s just a beer guy, ‘Cause I mean, he has great music across the spectrum, but it just seemed like a perfect fit,” Morgan shared at the time.

“Raise The Bar” appears as the first track on the project and is the song that led him to record collabs with Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, and more. Click below to re-live their fun-filled duet. 

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