Robert Bloom (January 15, 1946 – February 28, 1974) was an American singer-songwriter. He is known best for being a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

with the 1970 song, "

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, ho ...

", which was co-written with and produced by

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

Biography

Bloom was born in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated from

Wantagh High School Wantagh High School is a high school located in Wantagh, New York Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time ...

in 1964. In the early 1960s, while still in his teens, Bloom had been a member of the

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

group, The Imaginations. He received a big break in 1969 when he was awarded a contract to write and record a

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for

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, paving the way for his later success with "Montego Bay". He also played a role as a songwriter for the

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...

/ Buddah group of labels, co-writing "

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 ...

" for

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 Clo ...

and, with Jeff Barry, "

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" for

The Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

. Bloom co-wrote songs with Jeff Barry and Neil Goldberg for

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

' album ''Changes'' and their 1971 single "

Do It in the Name of Love "Do It in the Name of Love" is a song written by Bobby Bloom and Neil Brian Goldberg. The Monkees Producer Jeff Barry tapped Bloom and Goldberg to write songs for what would be the Monkees' final album for Colgems Records.Sandoval, Andrew. ...

". He often recorded

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of his songs at the recording studio of MAP City Records, owned by friends Peter Anders and Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr., with chief

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Peter H. Rosen at the controls. Early solo projects included "Love Don't Let Me Down" and "Count on Me". The recordings that followed his success with "Montego Bay" in 1970, "Heavy Makes You Happy", which became a hit for the

Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21, ...

in 1971, "Where Are We Going" and ''The Bobby Bloom Album'' all used the same combination of pop, calypso, and rock.

Death

Having suffered from depression toward the end of his life, Bloom died on February 28, 1974, in an accidental shooting at his home in Hollywood, at the age of 28. Bloom had accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun. The surviving members of Bloom's family did not believe Bloom would have shot himself, and the investigation never followed up on leads. Jeff Barry learned later he was the sole beneficiary of Bloom's life insurance policy.

Discography

Albums

* 1970 ''The Bobby Bloom Album'' (L&R Records) US#126 * 1971 ''Where Are We Going'' ( Buddah)

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

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Bobby Bloom, Discography, Albums
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Singles

References