| Montgomery Gentry - Long Line of Losers |
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 It was May 26, 2009, and Troy Gentry and Eddie Montgomery were at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville wowing listeners as usual with their distinctive “Southern-Rock-Country” sound when Charlie Daniels unexpectedly walked up on stage and wowed them…by personally inviting them to become members of the Grand Ole Opry. Less than one month later Marty Stuart and Little Jimmy Dickens conducted the formal induction ceremony.That was perhaps the crowning moment amid many highlights marking the illustrious career of Montgomery Gentry, a true “dynamic duo” if ever there was one. Eddie Montgomery is the elder brother of John Michael Montgomery, and along with Troy Gentry, the three originally performed together in “Early Tymz,” a Lexington, Kentucky band. With the dissolution of that band, John Michael Montgomery left in the early 1990s to forge his solo career, leaving Eddie and Troy in prime condition to form their duo. They initially began working under the name “Deuce.” However, after winning the “Jim Beam National Talent Contest” in 1994, Troy Gentry tried his own hand for a brief time as a solo artist. Although he opened for such acts as John Michael Montgomery, Patty Loveless, and Tracy Byrd, he gave it up and reunited with Eddie, and together they made their official debut as we now know them in 1999, billed as Montgomery Gentry. That same year they released their first album titled “Tattoos & Scars,” which certified platinum. In 2000, they were named CMA’s “Duo Of The Year,” and they have gone on to release a total of six studio albums, and three compilation albums (the latest being the Cracker Barrel compilation titled “For Our Heroes,” a tribute to the armed forces with a portion of the proceeds going to help “The Wounded Warrior Project”). Their combined albums have produced 23 chart singles, including five number ones. Their sixth studio album released in 2008, “Back When I Knew It All,” is still yielding hit singles. The latest, titled “Long Line Of Losers,” just entered our charts on August 8th. Written by Kevin Fowler and Kim Tribble, the song starts off with some “swampy,” free form slide guitar work reminiscent of Ry Cooder, then it eases into a nice little groove that has a sharper country edge than you would normally expect from Montgomery Gentry… but it’s a good edge. The vocals and harmonies are tight, and the lyrics are fun. The singer seems proud of the fact that his ancestors were losers, thereby apparently rendering him generationally predisposed to become a loser in his own right. This is a catchy and entertaining song, and all the indicators are that it should do well in our countdown. |