Country duo Montgomery Gentry channeled the raw energy and attitude of Southern rock acts such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Charlie Daniels while casting themselves as rowdy redneck rebels who nevertheless clung to small-town principles. Between 2001 and 2003 the pair reached the country Top Ten on several occasions, cresting at number two with the single “She Couldn't Change Me,” before claiming their first number-one country hit in 2004 via “If You Ever Stop Loving Me.” Four additional Top Ten entries followed: “Something to Be Proud Of,” “Lucky Man,” “Back When I Knew It All,” and “Roll with Me.” Although Troy Gentry perished in a helicopter crash in 2017, Eddie Montgomery pledged to keep the act alive as an ongoing legacy.
Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry initially performed side by side in Early Tymz, a Lexington, Kentucky ensemble fronted by Eddie’s brother, the future country star John Michael Montgomery. Both men had already been active on the local club circuit since their teens, with Eddie serving as drummer in his father’s band. Once Early Tymz disbanded, its remnants coalesced into a new outfit called Young Country that featured John Michael as the featured vocalist. When he eventually launched a solo career, Montgomery Gentry emerged shortly afterward, at first operating under the name Deuce.
After honing their sound in Lexington venues, the duo secured a Columbia contract following a showcase set. Their debut album, Tattoos & Scars, arrived in 1999 and climbed into the country Top Ten, propelled by the Top 20 singles “Hillbilly Shoes” and “Daddy Won't Sell the Farm,” the Top Five smash “Lonely and Gone,” and the Charlie Daniels collaboration “All Night Long.” In 2000 the CMA honored them as Duo of the Year, ending Brooks & Dunn’s eight-year reign. The follow-up, Carrying On, appeared in 2001, also reached the country Top Ten, and yielded the number-two hit “She Couldn't Change Me.” A third project, My Town, was finished swiftly and issued in 2002, giving the duo their third Top Five single with the title track.
The hard-driving You Do Your Thing surfaced in 2004, and the greatest-hits package Something to Be Proud Of: The Best of 1999-2005 followed in November 2005. Some People Change came out on Columbia Records in 2006, with Back When I Knew It All arriving in early 2008. Across more than a dozen singles and every studio album since 1999, plus the greatest-hits collection, the pair consistently landed inside the Top Ten. Their eighth studio album, Gravel Road, was released in 2010. Produced by Michael Knox, Rebels on the Run marked their debut for Average Joe's Entertainment in 2011 and entered the Billboard country chart at number nine. A digital-only EP, Friends and Family, surfaced in October 2012; after two years of steady touring they moved to Blaster Records and delivered the full-length Folks Like Us in June 2015.
While preparing Montgomery Gentry’s ninth studio album for 2017, Troy Gentry died at age 50 in a New Jersey helicopter crash on September 8 of that year, just before a scheduled concert. The completed project, Here's to You, reached stores on February 2, 2018. By then Eddie Montgomery had already announced his intention to keep touring and recording under the Montgomery Gentry banner.
