Troy Gentry Passes: A Musical Look Back
The country music community is in shock following the death of Troy Gentry, one half of award-winning duo Montgomery Gentry. He died in a helicopter crash in Medford, NJ Friday (9/8) at the age of 50. The duo was in town for concert at the Flying W Airport & Resort; the purpose of the helicopter flight isn’t yet known.
Gentry, a native of Lexington, KY, formed Montgomery Gentry in the mid’ 1990s with Eddie Montgomery, who he’d already been performing with for a few years. The pair signed with Columbia Nashville in 1998, releasing “Hillbilly Shoes” as their first single in 1999. The song peaked at No. 13 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart and more success was on the horizon.
— Montgomery Gentry (@mgunderground) September 8, 2017
During the next 18 years Montgomery Gentry charted 16 Top 10 singles and recorded nine studio albums, Billboard notes, each of which reached the Top 10 on the publication’s Top Country Albums chart. Multiple award nominations in subsequent years resulted in both an ACM Award for Top New Vocal Duo or Group and a CMA Award for Vocal Duo of Year. Their most successful radio singles as reported by Billboard are:
Rank, Title, Peak Position, Peak Date
1. “Roll With Me,” No. 1 (two weeks), Dec. 20, 2008
2. “What Do Ya Think About That,” No. 3, Jan. 5, 2008
3. “If You Ever Stop Loving Me,” No. 1 (one week), July 3, 2004
4. “Back When I Knew It All,” No. 1 (one week), July 12, 2008
5. “Lucky Man,” No. 1 (two weeks), July 7, 2007
6. “She Couldn’t Change Me,” No. 2, July 21, 2001
7. “Something to Be Proud Of,” No. 1 (two weeks), Oct. 8, 2005
8. “Gone,” No. 3, April 30, 2005
9. “She Don’t Tell Me To,” No. 5, March 25, 2006
10. “My Town,” No. 5, Nov. 2, 2002
Sales-wise, Billboard reports that Montgomery Gentry moved more than 5.2 million albums and 6.4 million song downloads. Troy Gentry can be heard most prominently in 2008’s “Hell Yeah” (see below).
“Hell Yeah”
Arrangements for the country star are pending. Stay up to date on related news here. Search Montgomery Gentry’s catalog of music here.
Teddy McDonald is a fun-lovin’ country music fan man living in Nashville, Tennessee.
