Craig Morgan On CBS Reality Show ‘Beyond The Edge’ & Writing His Memoir Set For Release This Fall

Country artist Craig Morgan says he agreed to do “Beyond the Edge’ because it isn’t the typical TV reality show. While it does take a group of people – in this case nine celebrities – and dumps them in a Panamanian jungle where they have to struggle to survive, the approach is a little bit different.

“I loved the concept,” Morgan says. “Unlike a lot of these survival reality shows, this one wasn’t about getting voted off, it wasn’t about confrontation between each other. This show was all about people working together, to stay as long as possible, as they try to overcome the physical pain and difficult environment. And it was all to raise money for charity.”

The celebrities which include Morgan, former NFL players Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary, actress Jodie Sweetin, model Paula Porizkova, fellow country artist Laura Alaina, and others, spend two weeks dealing with tough conditions as they push through brutally grueling “adventures” that test both their physical and mental strength.

It’s interesting to note, however, that Morgan was the only person in the group who had been to this part of the world before, especially in the extreme conditions they’d be facing.

Before becoming a country music artist, famous for hits like “That’s What I Love About Sunday” and “International Harvester,” Morgan spent more than 10 years on active duty in the military. He was an Airborne Ranger who served much of his time with the 82^nd and 101^st Airborne Divisions. As a result, he was involved in a number of special military missions, including one in Panama.

“I was in Panama in 1989 for the ousting of Manuel Antonio Noriega,” he explains. “When everyone in the United States kind of felt that conflict was over, right at the end of it, I was making a parachute jump up north. We did that with the CIA team, attempting to push any rebels back south. I was attached to them, I was the guy who provided the fire support they may have needed, or had they needed it, I was the guy there to do it for them.”

Since leaving the Army to pursue music, Morgan has been a strong supporter of those who serve. He’s traveled overseas for a number of USO trips to perform for the troops, often in places where he once served as a soldier, like Iraq. He’s involved with Operation Finally Home, the charity that will benefit should he win “Beyond the Edge.” (Operation Finally Home builds debt-free homes for servicemembers in need but while doing it, puts a heavy emphasis on getting the community involved. So, when the house is complete, the servicemember and his or her family already have a relationship with many of the people in their new community.)

While Morgan’s support for the military is well-known, many of his fans don’t know a lot about his time in the service. He’ll be sharing much of that in a new memoir set for release in September. He wrote it with Jim DeFelice, who co-wrote “American Sniper,” the book about U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle.

“I had the great privilege of working with Jim, who is a phenomenal writer,” Morgan says. “I knew he had written numerous books in the military arena, so I knew he would understand the acronyms and the verbiage. And I’m so pleased with how he truly captured my personality and voice in this book.”

The memoir is called “GOD, FAMILY, COUNTRY: Soldier, Singer, Husband, Dad—There’s a Whole Lot More to Me.”

It looks back over many areas of his life, including the tragic loss of his son, Jerry, who died by drowning in 2016.

“There were some difficult moments in writing the book,” Morgan says. “One in particular, when I’m talking about my son. It was very difficult to go through that entire process, but I do believe it might help someone else reading it.”

He’s still a little overwhelmed by the number of people who continue to let him know how much a song he wrote about the grief of losing Jerry, has meant to them. He credits God for the words of the song which came to him in the middle of the night.

“When I wrote that song, I didn’t want anyone to hear it,” he recalls. “But I realize God had a plan the whole time. I mean, still, to this day, people will email or message me or tell me when I see them, how it helped them get through a particular instance in their life.”

His memoir is set for release on September 27^th.

In the meantime, “Beyond the Edge” kicks off tonight on CBS at 9pm ET/8pm CST.

While Morgan’s not able to say much about what happened during the two weeks of filming, he can say it he’s grateful for the experience. He met people he likely would not have met otherwise, and even if he had, it wouldn’t have led to the close, lifelong relationships that have resulted from doing the show.”

“When you’re placed in an environment like the jungle of Panama and you’re tired, cold, hungry, dirty, and wet, everything else gets stripped away and you get to the soul and the heart of a person. That’s part of why guys in combat get so close because at times like that, all of the other stuff, from race to religion, mean nothing. First and foremost, it was about us getting through this, and because of that I’ve established some friendships I’m very grateful for, and think will be lifelong, that I might not have gotten to experience otherwise.”

And although Morgan has been busy filming the show and working on his memoir, music, as always, remains a priority.

“I’m actually working on new music,” he says. “I hope to have new music, and some new music projects, that will go along with, and around the release of the book.”

The memoir will be released September 27^th, but is available for preorder at

BlackstonepublishingGod, Family, Country