Despite knowing each other for over two decades, Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert had never recorded a duet with just the two of them, until now. Their first official collaboration, “Never You,” appears on Bentley’s latest album, Broken Branches. In honor of this release, Bentley looked back on the early days of their friendship and reflected on getting to watch his fellow artist rise to fame over the years.
“I was telling her and Randy Rogers, I found a picture of Miranda and myself and Randy Rogers back in 2006? We were on tour together and we were just, it was so much fun,” Bentley told Audacy’s Kate Neal.
As he relived the memories behind that photo, the Arizona native remembered all the excitement that comes with those early milestones. He then shared that it reminds him of his current tour with supporting act Zach Top, whom he’s getting to watch experience those same set of firsts for the very first time, just as he once did.
“It reminds me a lot of the tour I’m on now with Zach Top, just what it’s like to be that young and just have that much fun and have your kind of whole career ahead of you.”
Bentley also took a moment to praise Lambert not just as a collaborator, but as a constant force in the genre.
“I’ve just known her for so long and she’s still the same person she was back then. She’s still so fun to be around. Just says whatever’s on her mind,” he acknowledged before later adding, “She’s just one of the greatest singers, and she’d hate for me to say this, but she’s a future Hall of Fame member. That makes you sound old, but she’s going to be the Country Music Hall of Fame. She’s just all time. She’s so great. So happy to have her on that track.”
While the two have worked on music in the past, including on “Bad Angel,” a three-way collaboration with Jamey Johnson on Bentley’s 2010 bluegrass project Up on the Ridge, this is the first time they’ve had a true duet. Bentley admits he couldn’t be more thrilled about how the song turned out.
“I’ve always wanted to have a pure kind of duet. We never had one before. We had, on my bluegrass record a few years back, I guess about 10 years ago we had a song with Jamey Johnson. We had a three-way song. We’ve never had this, the two of us. So this track ‘Never You’ with her is just so fun to have her run on that song.”
He added, “She’s perfect for it. I’m so thankful she did it, really.”
At first glance it would be easy to assume that a title like “Never You” would be followed with a negative storyline, however that’s not the case here. Instead, Bentley and Lambert portray the narrative of two people in love who carry the belief that even if everything else in the world changes, their unwavering connection is something that will never waver.
“Never You” joins the immensely powerful storytelling that collectively appears throughout the reminder of the 10 tracks on Dierks Bentely’s 11th studio album. Other special guests that appear include Stephen Wilson Jr. on “Cold Beer Can,” and both John Anderson and Riley Green on the title track.
Dierks Bentley is on the road for his 30-city Broken Branches Tour, features support from Zach Top and The Band Loula.
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