after early tymz disbanded, the montgomery brothers and gentry briefly performed as young country, with john michael as lead vocalist. john michael left for a solo career in the early 1990s. gentry went solo and won the jim beam national talent contest in 1994, which led to him opening for patty loveless and tracy byrd. gentry initially wanted to pursue a solo career, but after he was unable to find a record deal, he reunited with eddie montgomery to form a duo called deuce, which played at local nightclubs. the duo later changed its name to montgomery gentry, and signed with columbia records' nashville division in 1999.