Robert Allan Ackoff (May 30, 1942 – June 30, 1983), known professionally as Bo Gentry, was an American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer, songwriter and record producer, most noted for his work with

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells is an American rock band formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. The band has had two No. 1 singles in the U.S.: " Hanky Panky" (1966), the band's only RIAA Certified Gold record, and "Crimson and Clover" (1969). The ...

in the 1960s.

Biography

Gentry was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

Kama Sutra Records Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Artie Ripp, Hy Mizrahi, and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The ''Kama Sutra'' is an ancient Sanskrit text. In 1965, the company was joined by Art Kass and the record labe ...

. After leaving the company following a disagreement with its owner

Artie Ripp Arthur Marcus 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 1957, Rip ...

, 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 ...

. These included " I Think We're Alone Now" (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'', mean ...

" (co-written with Cordell), " Mony Mony" (co-written with Cordell, Bobby Bloom, and

Tommy James Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson; April 29, 1947) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. James is the frontman of the rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which is known for hit singles such as "Mony Mony", ...

) and " Indian Giver" (co-written with Cordell and Bloom), a hit for the 1910 Fruitgum Company. With Cordell he co-produced (and according to some credits co-wrote) Tommy James and the Shondells' hit version of " I Think We're Alone Now", 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, record producer, and musician, 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 da ...

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 pop and country 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 h ...

'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 an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

. Bo Gentry died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without a legally valid will, resulting in the distribution of their estate under statutory intestacy laws rather than by their expressed wishes. Alternatively this may also apply ...

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 or ...

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 20th-century American songwriters