Eddie Montgomery Tributes Troy Gentry on One-Year Anniversary of His Death
Eddie Montgomery turned to social media to mark the one-year anniversary of Troy Gentry's death, remembering his friend and "brother in crime" fondly.
Montgomery posted a video to Montgomery Gentry's social media on Friday (Sept. 7), one day before the anniversary of Gentry's death in a helicopter crash, writing, "Miss you, T-Roy!" to accompany the clip.
"I'll tell you what, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss my brother in crime, T-Roy," he reflects in the clip. "After looking to your left all these years, man ... all the stuff with him and that big wooden spoon, stirring stuff up all the time, and pulling tricks and jokes. All the stuff that we've been through that we can't put on camera, that everybody can't see. That's the good stories," he says with a hearty laugh, adding, "He'd probably come kick my ass if I told some of them, so I better not! And plus, [Gentry's widow] Angie would probably kick my ass, too."
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"Every time I think about you, brother, I'm smiling and I'm laughing, and I go back to the honky-tonk days, man ..." he says fondly. "Gosh, man, I miss you, brother. I miss you a bunch."
Gentry died after a helicopter he was riding in crashed before a Montgomery Gentry gig scheduled to take place in New Jersey on Sept. 8, 2017. The helicopter's pilot was killed on impact. Montgomery was present at Gentry's bedside when the singer died later that afternoon at a local hospital.
"A little piece of my soul got lost there," Montgomery reflects. "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."
Montgomery Gentry returned to the road in January of 2018 for the Here's to You Tour, which features Montgomery and Gentry's other bandmates continuing to perform their hits in a tribute to the legacy they created together.
Montgomery admits he had "a lot of sleepless nights" when he was trying to decide whether to continue Montgomery Gentry without his partner of more than two decades, until he remembered a conversation in which they agreed that if one of them died, the other should move forward with their music.
"I called the band up, too ... I was like, 'You know what, T-Roy would kick my ass if we didn't keep it rocking right now," Montgomery says.
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Remembering Montgomery Gentry's Troy Gentry