Died On This Date (September 8, 2017) Troy Gentry / Montgomery Gentry

Troy Gentry
April 5, 1967 – September 8, 2017

Photo Credit: nola.agent via Wikimedia Commons

Troy Gentry, of the popular American country duo, Montgomery Gentry, died in a helicopter crash in Medford, New Jersey, on September 8, 2017.  A passenger in the helicopter, the 50-year-old was in town for a scheduled performance.  Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Gentry began playing with local friend and drummer, Eddie Montgomery in 1990. Over the next several years, they morphed into different bands and configurations until they finally settled on Montgomery Gentry, and were signed to Sony Nashville in 1999. What followed was a remarkable string of hits, both at country radio and on the charts, with songs like, “Roll With Me,” ”Back When I Knew It All,” and ”Lucky Man.”  In all, the band has sold over six million albums to date. Montgomery Gentry were also a very popular concert draw across much of the US and beyond, as fans lined up for their electrifying Southern Rock-influenced sound.  At the time of Gentry’s death, they were reportedly working on the follow-up to their 2015 album, Folks Like Us.

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Died On This Date (September 8, 2017) Don Williams / Country Music Legend

Don Williams
May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017

The Country Music world mourns the loss of one of its most distinctive song stylists with the passing of Don Williams after a short illness. He was 78.

A native of Floydada, Texas, Williams was born May 27, 1939. He grew up in Portland, TX, graduating there in 1958. Music had always been a part of his upbringing, entering – and winning – a talent contest when he was just three years old. For his efforts, Williams received an alarm clock. He began playing guitar during his teen-age years, learning the songs that he heard on the radio during that period. He and his friends played in local bands around the area.

In 1969, Williams soon found his way to Nashville. By 1971, he had a songwriting contract with the publishing company owned by Jack Clement. The next year would see Williams ink a recording deal with Clement’s JMI Records. He made his chart debut with “The Shelter of Your Eyes” in 1973, and was soon hitting the charts time and again with a much more laid-back sound than a lot of the music coming out of Nashville at the time. 1974 would see Williams top the charts for the first time with “I Wouldn’t Want To Live If You Didn’t Love Me.” From that point all the way through 1991, each Williams single would hit the Top-40 on the Billboard Country charts. His 1970s hits included such chart toppers as “Tulsa Time,” “She Never Knew Me,” and “It Must Be Love.” His career grew steadily through label shifts to ABC/Dot, MCA, Capitol, and finally RCA. Williams also gained a devoted following overseas in such unlikely spots as England, Ireland, and New Zealand , and even South Africa and Kenya – where he reached superstar status. He was named the Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1978.

The 1980s saw no slow-down in Williams’ recorded output, with the singer notching his biggest hit with 1981’s “I Believe In You,” which not only topped the Country charts, but crossed over to No. 24 on the Hot 100. By this time, he had earned the nickname “The Gentle Giant” for his trademark mellow sound, and the hits continued to pile up throughout the rest of the decade – “Stay Young,” “If Hollywood Don’t Need You,” and “One Good Well” being three of his biggest of the 1980s. His final top ten came in 1991, with “Lord Have Mercy On A Country Boy,” a song that Josh Turner – a Williams fan – would record in 2006.

Though the changing of the guard at radio slowed down Williams’ chart success, he continued to perform for sold-out crowds in America and abroad, playing a final tour in 2006. However, retirement was not in the cards for the singer, who returned to the road in 2010 – the same year that he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Williams’ return to the spotlight also included a pair of albums on Sugar Hill, 2012’s And So It Goes, and 2014’s Reflections, which included contributions from Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, and Keith Urban. It was a sign of his enduring appeal that both albums hit the Top-20 on the Billboard Country Albums charts – his biggest rank there in three decades.

In 2016, Williams decided that the time was right for his final performance, calling it a career after one of the most successful careers in the history of the Country Music business. “It’s time to hang my hat up and enjoy some quiet time at home. I’m so thankful for my fans, my friends and my family for their everlasting love and support,” the 76-year-old Williams said in a statement at the time. Last year also saw the final release of Williams’ career, a live CD and DVD recorded in Ireland. In 2017, the singer was the subject of a tribute album, Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams, that included performances of his hits by artists such as Lady Antebellum and Garth Brooks. [Source: Webster Public Relations]

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Died On This Date (January 15, 2017) Greg Trooper / Acclaimed Singer-Songwriter

Greg Trooper
January 13, 1956 – January 15, 2017

Greg Trooper was a singer-songwriter who, besides building up a hefty library of his own releases, had songs recorded by Vince Gill, Steve EarleMaura O’Connell, Robert Earle Keen, and Billy Bragg, among others. Born in Neptune, New Jersey, Trooper spent much of his teenage years frequenting folk venues of Greenwich Village. It served him well. After a detour to Kansas for college, he settled in New York City where he spent more than a decade playing clubs, pitching his songs, and recording his first couple of albums.  By the mid ’90s, Trooper was living in Nashville where he released several more albums, working with producers like Buddy Miller and Garry Tallent of the E Street Band.  Throughout his career, he released more than a dozen albums – the studio albums at least, to critical acclaim.  During the summer of 2015, Greg Trooper was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which took his life on January 15, 2017.  He was 61.

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Died On This Date (January 11, 2017) Tommy Allsup / Rockabilly & Western Swing Great

Tommy Allsup
November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017

Photo by Eric Shaiman

Tommy Allsup was an influential rockabilly and western swing guitarist, but he was also one of the luckiest people in all of popular music.  While on tour with  Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson in February of 1959 – he was in Holly’s band – Allsup was on the “losing” end of the infamous coin toss that gave his seat up to Valens who was killed with the others when the plane crashed. After Holly’s death, Allsup went to work for Liberty Records where he produced records by Willie Nelson and Tex Williams, among others. Although he was most famous for his playing on Holly’s records, Allsup also recorded with the likes of Bob Wills,  The Ventures, Kenny Rogers, The Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison.  Tommy Allsup was 85 when he died on January 11, 2017.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.

 

The Music’s Over’s Favorite Albums of 2016

We lost an unprecedented number of musical greats in 2016. Nonetheless, there was still plenty of amazing music to celebrate this year.

Here are The Music’s Over’s Top 50 Albums of 2016.

1. David Bowie – Blackstar

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2. Gojira – Magma

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3. Against Me! – Shape Shift With Me

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4. Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker

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5. Metallica – Hardwired…To Self-Destruct

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6. Red Fang – Only  Ghosts

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7. Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression

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8. Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide To Earth

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9 (A). S U R V I V E – Rr7349

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9 (B). Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (of S U R V I V E) – Stranger Things: A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack

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10. Brian Fallon – Painkillers

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11. Crippled Black Phoenix – Bronze

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12. Anthrax – For All Kings

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13. Charles Bradley – Changes

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14. El Caco – 7

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15. Megadeth – Dystopia

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16. Metal Church – XI

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17. James Hunter Six – Hold On!

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18. Tower Tower

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19. Anciients – Voice Of The Void

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20. Jeremy & The Harlequins – Into The Night

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21. Testament – Brotherhood Of The Snake

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22. The Last Shadow Puppets – Everything You’ve Come To Expect

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23. The Rolling Stones Blue & Lonesome

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24. Crowbar – The Serpent Only Lies

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25. The Monkees Good Times!

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26. Heliotropes – Over There That Way

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27. John Doe The Westerner

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28. Loretta Lynn Full Circle

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29. Alice Bag – Alice Bag

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30. Bobby Rush Porcupine Meat

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31. White Lung Paradise

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32. Kyng Breathe In The Water

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33. Aaron Lee Tasjan Silver Tears

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34. Fates Warning – Theories Of Flight

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35. Savages – Adore Life

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36. Mudcrutch – 2

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37. Luke Bell Luke Bell

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38. Summer Cannibals Full Of It

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39. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree

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40. The Shrine – Rare Breed

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41. Alejandro Escovedo Burn Something Beautiful

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42. Fea – Fea

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43. Spiritual Beggars – Sunrise To Sundown

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44. Fleshtones The Band Drinks For Free

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45. William Bell This Is Where I Live

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46. Paul Cauthen – My Gospel

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47. I Don’t Cares Wild Stab

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48. Shovels & Rope – Little Seeds

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49. Night Beats – Who Sold My Generation

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49. Night Beats – Who Sold My Generation

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50. Parquet Courts Human Performance

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