Singer Troy Gentry Dies in Helicopter Crash

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Montgomery Gentry family, fans, and the country music world as a whole”, the casino said on Facebook.

Police said Robinson and Gentry took off from the Flying W and was returning to the airport when police were notified it was in distress.

Gentry, 50, was born in Lexington, Ky., where he met Eddie Montgomery and they formed an act based off their surnames. He and Eddie Montgomery began performing together in the 1990s with Montgomery’s brother, John Michael Montgomery. They later changed their name to Montgomery Gentry and signed to Columbia Records in 1999. The duo charted numerous hits, including “Something to Be Proud Of”, “Daddy Won’t Sell the Farm” and the Grammy-nominated “Lucky Man”. What a loss, ‘ fellow country singer, Randy Houser, wrote to his Twitter page. Still, their star was on the rise.

That same year, the band won an award for Top New Duo with the Academy of Country Music and Vocal Duo of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards.

Songs like “My Town” and “Hillbilly Shoes” put the duo on the road, where they were still playing 17 years later.

Their song “Gone” became the most-played country song by a duo in 2005. In 2009, they were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry.

He added: “To still be out this long and doing what we’re doing, we’ve been very blessed”. He cited George Jones, Randy Travis, Hank Williams, Jr., and Merle Haggard as influences on his career. “We’ve paid tribute to icons like George Jones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Glen Campbell”. Montgomery Gentry confirmed the news on their Twitter.

Ford is a co-founder of Average Joes and its flagship artist. Their most recent release came in 2015 with the album Folks Like Us, which produced two singles: the title track, and “Headlights”. Country singer Sheryl Crow retweeted: “So sad to hear the news of Troy Gentry”.