Robert Allan Ackoff (May 30, 1942 – June 30, 1983), known professionally as Bo Gentry, was an American pop singer, songwriter and record producer, most noted for his work with

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clov ...

in the 1960s.

Biography

Gentry was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In the early 1960s, he worked as a songwriter and producer at

Kama Sutra Records Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The "Kama Sutra" is an ancient Sanskrit text.Alan Betrock ''Girl groups: the story of a sound'' 1982 p.1 ...

. After leaving the company following a disagreement with its owner

Artie Ripp Arthur Marcus "Artie" Ripp (born 1940) is an American music industry executive and record producer. Career Early career Ripp began his career as a singer, initially informally harmonizing rock and roll songs with friends from high school. In ...

, he had successes as a songwriter working with

Ritchie Cordell Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt; March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. He wrote and produced several hits for Tommy James and The Shondells, including "I Think We're Alone No ...

. These included "

I Think We're Alone Now "I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written and composed by Ritchie Cordell that was first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. It was a major hit for group, reaching number 4 on the US Hot 100 in April 1967. It finished at No. 12 on '' B ...

" (written with Cordell, though Gentry was not credited as co-writer because he was still contracted to Kama Sutra); "

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

" (co-written with Cordell), "

Mony Mony "Mony Mony" is a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry and Tommy James, the song has appeared in ...

" (co-written with Cordell,

Bobby Bloom Robert Bloom (January 15, 1946 – February 28, 1974) was an American singer-songwriter. He is known best for being a one-hit wonder with the 1970 song, "Montego Bay", which was co-written with and produced by Jeff Barry. Biography Bloom was bo ...

, and

Tommy James Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson; April 29, 1947), also known as Tommy Tadger, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely known as frontman of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, who were know ...

) and "

Indian Giver "Indian giver" is a pejorative expression used to describe a person who gives a "gift" and later wants it back or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for the item. It is based on cultural misunderstandings that took place between ...

" (co-written with Cordell and Bloom), a hit for the

1910 Fruitgum Company The 1910 Fruitgum Company is an American bubblegum pop band of the 1960s. The group's ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits were "Simon Says", "May I Take a Giant Step", " 1, 2, 3, Red Light", "Goody Goody Gumdrops", "Indian Giver", "Special Delivery", an ...

. With Cordell he co-produced (and according to some credits co-wrote) Tommy James and the Shondells' hit version of "

", and the album of the same name. He recorded several singles with Cordell in the late 1960s. Bo Gentry credits, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 10 August 2017 Gentry also co-wrote (with

Kenny Laguna Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Joan Jett. Biography Laguna was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, United States, and started playing piano at high school dances from th ...

and Paul Naumann) the UK instrumental hit " Groovin' With Mr. Bloe", and (with Tony Lordi)

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

's " Shady Lady". "Mony Mony" was also a US number one hit in 1987 for

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

. Bo Gentry died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

in 1983. His mother, as his next of kin, took legal action in 2002 and later to recover money that she claimed was owing as

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

for "Mony Mony". Susan ACKOFF-ORTEGA, Cele Ackoff, and Jon Ackoff, Plaintiffs, v. WINDSWEPT PACIFIC ENTERTAINMENT CO. (INC.), EMI Virgin Music, Inc., and Richard Rosenblatt, Defendants., No. 99 CIV. 11710(SAS). United States District Court, S.D. New York
. Retrieved 10 August 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentry, Bo 1942 births 1983 deaths Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters