Elder gays, tell me about Bobbie Gentry

Fancy

He Made a Woman Out of Me

Based on what I've seen, OP, the DL does love her. I certainly do.

I don't know that she was really "country," though. Most female country singers are ones where most of their hits are on country radio and in country charts, but some of their songs cross over to pop, like Dolly Parton or Reba. Bobbie, on the other hand, was a pop singer who had roots in the south, and songs like "Ode to Billie Joe" had a Southern Gothic feel, so she was more the opposite - a pop/rock/easy listener singer who also appeared on country radio or on the country charts.

PS What I said at R3 also describes Glen Campbell; they did a whole album together.

This song was written by Bobbie, but it definitely has a bit of a Jimmy Webb vibe......

She sure did a great disappearing act. When she done with it, she was really done with it. And has zero interest in talking about her career.

Other than one picture from 2007 with a relative on the relative's website, there are no other pictures of her online since he last public appearances from the early 80s. And that picture remained unnoticed for years because the relative just referred to her under her first name, so it wasn't put out there for attention.

R3 She is sorta the opposite of Brenda Lee. Brenda was Country packaged as Pop and Bobbie Gentry was Pop packaged as Country. But, you cannot claim that Bobbie wasn't accepted in Country Music. She won 2 ACMs out of 7 nominations. And, she was the co-host of the very first, non-televised, CMA Awards.

Oh hell you struck a nerve, when I was a kid back in the 1970s, my Dad had her greatest hits on 8-Track in the car, we went on vacation to Florida to see grandparents, my sister and I still can sing all the songs and we're very old now.

LOVE her. I think Lana Del Rey is this generation's Bobbie Gentry, and she's coming close to pulling Bobbie's disappearing act.

I think she was talented and also incredibly smart. The 80s would have taken a wrecking ball to her style and what she knew she had to offer. She would have been relegated to Vegas, and she saw the writing on the wall.

She'd also been very wise with money and investments and knew she didn't have to work another day. She remained in the South, and didn't move to the coast(s).

R8 YES, I've compared Lana Del Rey and BG for years. Both of them really excel at making each song sound like a unique audio movie.

"It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty delta day".

She wrote Fancy (popularized by Reba McEntire) and inspired Lana Del Ray

in the same category of "country" (though more related to the influence of rockabilly, which for many years was seen separate to country. As was bluegrass and folk, which in addition to rock and blues, rockabilly was influenced by. . . which we could play out the social like class, caste and political divisions of the more progressive hillbilly to traditional/corporate country, which overlapped with white gospel. played out the same with black blues and gospel... that shared similar mutual disdain and social classing.)

R12 That is the picture referred to above from 2007. She would've been 65 there. It was on a relative's real estate website. So, it wasn't a real "public appearance" as the site linked to tries to make it seem or "coming out of hiding". Just a casual family photo that was discovered online.

while people would view Martha Carson as gospel now.. she was a rebel rouser in her start. (a comparison on the dynamic above would be Mahalia Jackson who was more blues than gospel and helped close that gap.) Also, in this blend would be The Carters, June Carter perhaps better known for breakiung that barrier, ,too.

She was married 3 times, each of which lasted no more than 2 years.

One of those husbands was Bill Harrah who founded Harrah's casinos.

Although her voice is not particularly big or wide ranging, man, can she sing a song!

When I was ten, mom took my brother and I to see "Ode To Billy Joe".

Bobbie Gentry wrote it open-endedly. We don't know exactly why Billie Joe jumped off the bridge. Gentry just wanted her song to highlight the nonchalant apathy of people reacting to the death.

Mercury Rev did her Delta Sweete album with a different vocalist on each song. Some of the vocalists were Beth Orton, Hope Sandoval, Lucinda Williams and Susanne Sundfør. They toured with Beth Orton doing all the vocals. It was fantastic.

[quote]Oh hell you struck a nerve, when I was a kid back in the 1970s, my Dad had her greatest hits on 8-Track in the car, we went on vacation to Florida to see grandparents, my sister and I still can sing all the songs and we're very old now.

I thought she only had ONE hit. Maybe two.

"Ode to Billie Joe" and "Fancy" are really powerful short stories set to music. To think that one woman, in her 20s, wrote both is amazing.

In a world full of nobodies who are famous for nothing, except talking about every single thing own their life, I love that she was so talented, completely vanished and wants nothing to do with Show Business. Total Boss. She also did Duets with Glenn Campbell.

Her Ode to Billy Joe usurped the Billboard number 1 position just long enough to prevent DR and the Sups Reflections from going number 1 in 1967, which it should have. Reflections was a number 1 record!

How many little pencil-dialers issued their first major gay gasp at the line "I may have been born just plain white trash, but FANCY WAS MY NAME!"

Bobbie won the 1967 Grammy for Best New Artist. The other nominees were The 5th Dimension, Jefferson Airplane, Lana Cantrell, and Harpers Bizarre.

Just think, there was a time when a primetime TV show could just stop dedicate a moment to a sweet gentle literate song.

No dancers, no lighting effects, no flashy camera work, no urban hip hop beat but a melody instead.

This is from The Smothers Brothers Show. 1967.

She married very, VERY well and invested wisely. Smart lady. She didn't have much vocal range but was a terrific writer. I wish she had continued as a songwriter.

[quote]Her Ode to Billy Joe usurped the Billboard number 1 position just long enough to prevent DR and the Sups Reflections from going number 1 in 1967, which it should have.

R24 took too much LSD back in 1967

About 17 of her songs sounded just like Billie Joe.

She was no Jeannie C. Riley!

Who sang I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden? They were all much of a muchness these gurls.

This is one of the best box sets I've ever purchased. Even if you don't buy physical CDs, this box set is worth having. Beautifully packaged, with rarities, it's simply a treasure trove and a wonderful tribute to a mysterious and talented artist.

[quote] Who sang I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden?

Omg

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