Bobby Bloom

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Robert "Bobby" 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.

In the early 1960s, Bloom had been a member of the doo-wop group, The Imaginations. He received a big break in 1969 when he was awarded a contract to write and record a jingle for Pepsi, paving the way for his later success with "Montego Bay." He also played a role as a songwriter for the Kama Sutra/Buddah group of labels,  co-writing "Mony Mony" for Tommy James and the Shondells and, with Jeff Barry, "Sunshine" for The Archies.

Bloom worked as a sound engineer for musicians such as Louis Jordan and Shuggie Otis. Bloom often recorded demos of his songs at the recording studio of MAP City Records, owned by friends Peter Anders and Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr., with chief engineer 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 in 1971, "Where Are We Going" and The Bobby Bloom Album all used the same combination of pop, calypso, and rock.

Having suffered from depression towards the end of his life, Bloom died on February 28, 1974 in an accidental shooting at the age of 28.  He apparently 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 was surprised to find out afterwards that he was the sole beneficiary of Bloom's life insurance policy.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXjVd0TeOX0

"Montego Bay" is a song co-written and performed by Bobby Bloom about the city in Jamaica. The song was a Top 10 hit for Bloom in September 1970 on both sides of the Atlantic. It reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart, #5 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart,  #7 on the Australian Go-Set Singles Chart and #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The song was co-written and produced by Jeff Barry. In the master tape of the song, Bloom breaks into a chorus of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" at the end of the recording, but the single version fades out before that. Apparently, that was done to avoid paying royalties for use of the Rodgers & Hammerstein song, though the full version does appear on the Bobby Bloom Album and has received frequent airplay. The song features a whistler, as well as Jamaican instruments to illustrate the section called "Montego Bay," in a Calypso genre.

Bloom's recording of the song appeared in the film The Ice Storm.