Bobby Bloom

Bloom was born in Brooklyn, NY. In the early 1960s, while still in his teens, Bloom had been a member of the doo-wop group, The Imaginations.[2][3] 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,[4] co-writing "Mony Mony" for Tommy James and the Shondells and, with Jeff Barry, "Sunshine" for The Archies.[4] Bloom co-wrote songs with Jeff Barry and Neil Goldberg for the Monkees' album Changes and their 1971 single "Do It in the Name of Love". He 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[5] at the controls. Early solo projects included "Love Don't Let Me Down" and "Count on Me".[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

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.[6] Jeff Barry learned later he was the sole beneficiary of Bloom's life insurance policy. In a 1995 interview, Jeff Barry states that Bobby Bloom was shot by another guy in a fight over a girl. He states that Bloom burst into a room after kicking down a door and was then shot. The case was never followed up.[7]

• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States