See Eli Young Band Spotlight Story of Disabled Vet in ‘Love Ain’t’ Video
With the release of their heart-pounding new single, “Love Ain’t,” the Eli Young Band dive deep into the difference between healthy and destructive relationships, presenting a bold, country-rocking anthem for those who’ve found “the one” – even if they don’t quite know it yet.
Released on Friday, the track marks the Texas band’s first new music since last summer’s Fingerprints album, which included the sunny spirituality of “Saltwater Gospel.” But as moving as the song is on its own, its video – also out today, just in time for Memorial Day – will leave a lump in your throat.
Backed by the force-of-nature passion of the new single, the clip tells the story of Taylor Morris, a Navy EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) veteran who lost all four limbs while serving in Afghanistan in 2012, and his now-wife Danielle. With photos and video footage of the couple’s journey, the inspiring clip gives new meaning to the terms dedication and determination, as the high-school sweethearts work through Morris’ remarkable recovery, eventually marrying in 2015.
Speaking with Rolling Stone Country, the band’s lead singer Mike Eli calls the combined message of the song and video “a perfect storm of emotion.”
“After making this video, it’s an incredible life lesson, and an incredible lesson in love,” he says. “As a father and a husband, meeting Taylor and Danielle and seeing their love in action makes me want to be a better father and husband, and to love more. Under any normal circumstance, all of us struggle to make our relationships work. But then you see the beautiful spirit of this couple, it’s just moving. It makes you feel incredible.”
“Love Ain’t” was written by Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley and Shane McAnally and produced by Dann Huff – a special-forces team of Nashville hit makers if there ever was one – and will go on to become part of the band’s seventh studio album, which is currently in the works. Eli says it’s too early to officially announce that project, but allows that the two tracks they’ve recorded so far feature a similar “ruckus of a party” feel as their 10,000 Towns album, which debuted at the top of Billboard‘s Country Albums chart in 2014.
On top of a full tour schedule and working on new music, the Eli Young Band will continue to salute the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces this summer, performing three shows at overseas military bases in the Caribbean, Greenland and South Korea. The band has previously entertained troops stationed in Germany and Japan.