Remembering Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry

Has it really been eight years since Troy Gentry died?

On September 8, 2017, Gentry took a helicopter ride before a show in Medford, N.J. Pilot error and a failure by maintenance personnel were eventually blamed for a crash that killed the 50-year-old Montgomery Gentry guitarist.

Eddie Montgomery was waiting for his longtime friend at the airport.

"There’s not a day that I don't see it," he'd later tell Taste of Country.

To acknowledge the anniversary, we put together a short video of interview clips that show what Gentry preferred to talk about above all else. He was not a perfect human being, but he had a big heart.

In the months that followed, Montgomery was quiet, but in early 2018, he began to talk about the tragedy and his friend, whom he considered a brother.

He'd tell ToC that he and Gentry talked about what the other should do if one of them died unexpectedly — the marching orders were to keep the Montgomery Gentry music alive, so that's what he did. A tour and a new album followed, and then even more new music.

Montgomery is still touring as Montgomery Gentry and a solo artist, having released his first solo album in 2021.