Johnny Gates Re-lives Bittersweet Memories in 'Loretta Lynn' Vid

Johnny Gates re-lives bittersweet memories in his new music video, for his song "Loretta Lynn." The clip is premiering exclusively via The Boot; press play below to watch.

As Gates sings about the remnants of a failed relationship that lurk throughout his apartment, those moments create the "Loretta Lynn" music video's story. Gates plays the song's narrator opposite Lauren Luiz, a good friend, fellow artist and frequent co-writer; it's her voice that listeners hear in the background on the song, too.

"I wrote ["Loretta Lynn"] a few years back, as I was packing up my apartment on my last night in Nashville before moving to L.A.," Gates explains. "I wanted to write the most country song I could come up with, and what is more country than the title Loretta Lynn?"

While the narrator of "Loretta Lynn" is mourning a lost love, Gates says the song is actually "really reflective of the mindset I was in at the time with my relationship to Nashville and country music."

"Loretta Lynn" appears on Gates' recently released East Music Row EP. The project shares its name with both the record label imprint that Gates' publishing company started for his music and the way he describes his sound.

"That’s what my life in Nashville is," Gates tells American Songwriter. "If I’m going to be 100-percent authentic about myself, then who I am is split between my time spent in East Nashville and on Music Row."

A Providence, R.I., native, Gates began pursuing music as a career at the age of 18, when he joined the band Runaway Saints. He and his bandmates moved to Nashville and signed with Atlantic Records, but after things went south following that move to Los Angeles, Gates began focusing fully on his solo career.

In 2017, Gates competed on The Voice. During the TV singing competition's 12th season, he joined Gwen Stefani's team and made it to the first round of live performances before being eliminated from the show.

Fans can keep up with Gates at TheJohnnyGates.com.