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Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton Record Duet, But Haven’t Hung Out with One Another

Morgan Wallen released his double album “Dangerous” earlier this month. That album includes thirty songs. Among those is a duet with singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton called “Only Thing That’s Gone.” Despite the duet, they have never hung out. According to Stapleton, they’ve only met in passing.

They wouldn’t have to really meet to be familiar with one another, though. In recent years, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen have been huge names in country music. Last year, everyone learned just how much could be done remotely. They cut this duet in true 2020 fashion.

Morgan Wallen knew that he wanted to feature Chris Stapleton on his latest album. He didn’t however know for sure what song he wanted to feature him on. So, he emailed Stapleton a handful of tracks. In an interview with “Taste of Country Nights,” Stapleton discussed how the collaboration came to be.

Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton Record Distanced Duet

“I got an email,” Stapleton said. That email contained a handful of songs that Morgan Wallen thought Stapleton would work well on. He listened to the tracks and one stuck out to him. Stapleton decided to give “The Only Thing That’s Gone” a shot. It was his first time back in the studio since recording “Starting Over.”

Instead of hitting the studio together, Stapleton said Morgan Wallen’s people send the track to his engineer Vance Powell and he went and sang his parts. Chris Stapleton concludes, Now it is something that exists.”

During the chat, Stapleton said that he’s never really spoken to Morgan Wallen. On this, the “Tennessee Whiskey” singer says, “I’ve only met him in passing, at some awards shows and things, but we’ve never really stood in a room together.”

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that you can do great things from long distances.

“The Only Thing That’s Gone”

The duet fits well among the rest of Morgan Wallen’s double album. Most of the songs on the album are about liquor and love. This one combines the two. It all centers around a man sitting in a bar drinking away his blues after a breakup.

Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton work surprisingly well together vocally. They trade off verses and sing together in the chorus. The pair give the song a really traditional feel.

The subject matter of the song has been covered countless times in country music. However, the song does contain some clever lyrics that make the well-worn path feel fresh. For instance, the opening line sets the tone for the whole song in an interesting way. “She told me where I could go/ Just stopped in here before I went.”

At the time of his “Taste of Country Nights” interview, Stapleton hadn’t heard the finished version of his duet with Morgan Wallen. Hopefully, he has heard it by now. If not he’s missing out.