On this day in 2017, country music lost a blue-collar, Batman-loving firebrand. Troy Gentry—one half of the hard-charging duo Montgomery Gentry—died in a helicopter crash in Medford, N.J., just hours before showtime. Gentry was 50.
“He was more than just a singer,” his duo partner Eddie Montgomery told People. “He was a brother, and he was always there. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still making music together.”
Gentry had been on a sightseeing trip in the helicopter, and the vessel began having trouble as it approached the Flying W Airport & Resort. Montgomery was waiting at the airport.
Police received a call about a helicopter in distress, according to Joel Bewley, spokesman for the Burlington County prosecutor’s office. The helicopter crashed as emergency crews arrived at the scene. Emergency crews removed Gentry, who was a passenger, alive from the wreckage. Montgomery and other members of the group’s band were taken to the hospital to see Gentry, Medford police Chief Richard Meder told the Associated Press.
Videos by American Songwriter
Gentry died at the hospital. The crews worked for hours to remove the body of pilot James Evan Robinson from the wreckage.
Montgomery Gentry had been slated to headline that night.
“A Little Piece of My Soul Got Lost”
“A little piece of my soul got lost there,” Montgomery told People. “It was a horrific day; my world changed as much as the band did. It’s something that you never get over. It’s going to be in my mind and my soul for the rest of my life.”
Born in Lexington, Ky., Gentry eventually called Nashville home, but he carried his Kentucky pride with him everywhere—Wildcat love, bar-band grit and all. He and Montgomery kicked the Music Row doors open in 1999 with “Hillbilly Shoes,” then stacked up radio staples “My Town,” “Something to Be Proud Of,” “Gone,” and “Where I Come From.” They won CMA Vocal Duo of the Year in 2000 and received an invitation to the Grand Ole Opry in 2009. The pair made more than 11 albums – including a Cracker Barrel special and a greatest-hits package— and notched multiple No. 1s, including “Lucky Man” and “Roll With Me.”
“One of the greatest things about those guys is he and Eddie loved their fans,” longtime publicist Craig Campbell told The Tennessean. “Everybody says that, but everything they did was for their fans.”
Sony A&R chief Blake Chancey, who signed them after a packed-house Lexington gig in 1998, still laughs at the memory: “After the first song, the whole club turned around and looked at me—like they were staring holes through me. I had to sign them so I could get out of there alive,” he joked. “I love those guys. I’m beyond words.”
Montgomery Gentry were Proudly Country and Unexpectedly Universal
Their appeal stretched beyond honky-tonks. Poet Maya Angelou invited Montgomery Gentry to open her 2007 Tennessee Performing Arts Center appearance, praising “Some People Change.” After a People’s Choice Awards performance, Queen Latifah tracked them down and brought them to her talk show. They were proudly country—and unexpectedly universal.
The community’s grief on Sept. 8, 2017, was instant and visceral. Brad Paisley wrote he was “heartbroken and in disbelief.” Chris Young said he had “literally no words.” Gretchen Wilson called it “a giant hole in the heart of Country Music.” Blake Shelton dug up a throwback shot from his mullet era to remember his old friend.
Gentry’s final years were tumultuous. He mourned his brother Keith in 2014 and his father, Lloyd, in August 2017. He stood with Montgomery through a 2010 prostate-cancer fight, then leaned on that knowledge when his wife, Angie, faced—and beat—breast cancer in 2015.
“Angie and I are pretty deeply faithful people,” he told The Tennessean then.
Troy Gentry’s Highs and Lows
In 2004, Gentry shot a captive bear in a hunting incident that shadowed his image after a video resurfaced in 2010. Gentry publicly apologized. He called it “unethical,” and said he had “paid a huge price” and became “a different and better person.” Even amid controversy, the duo showed up for others. The Academy of Country Music honored Montgomery Gentry with its 2010 Humanitarian Award for work with the U.S. military, T.J. Martell Foundation, Make-A-Wish of Middle Tennessee, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and more.
Eight years after the helicopter accident, the enduring picture is the one they painted from the stage: a duo built in Kentucky bars and on American backroads, singing anthems about who you’re with and where you’re from.
Gentry loved his family—wife Angie and daughter Kaylee—and he loved the crowd. That love, like the songs, still carries.
On This Day in 2017, Troy Gentry’s Final Flight Stilled His Voice but Montgomery Gentry’s Anthems Still Resonate
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.