dipity

Bobbie Gentry (b. Roberta Lee Streeter, July 27 1944, Chickasaw County, Mississippi) is an American singer-songwriter.

She shot to international fame in the summer of 1967 with "Ode to Billie Joe". The song was listed as the most popular single of the year in many U.S. record surveys [citation needed].

Gentry spent her childhood living with her father in Greenwood, Mississippi, where she attended elementary school and began teaching herself to play the guitar, bass, and the banjo. In her early teens, she moved to Palm Springs, California, to live with her mother, Ruby Bullington Streeter, graduating from Palm Valley School in 1960. Gentry was of partial Portuguese ancestry. At about this time, she chose the stage name "Bobbie Gentry" and began performing at local country clubs, encouraged by no less a Palm Springs celebrity than Bob Hope.

After a short career as a Las Vegas showgirl, Gentry moved to Los Angeles, attended UCLA (where she was a philosophy major) and worked...

Created by dipity on Jan 24, 2008

Last updated: 11/18/09 at 02:54 AM

• Chickasaw County Child: The Artistry of Bobbie Gentry
  Apr 12, 2004

  Track listing: Ode to Billie JoePapa, Won't You Let Me Go to Town With You?Mississippi DeltaI Saw an Angel DieBugsHurry, Tuesday ChildChickasaw County ChildOkolona River Bottom BandPenduli PendulumMornin' GloryJessye' LisabethRefractionsCasket VignetteHushabye MountainThe Girl From CincinnatiFancyApartment 21BenjaminMarigolds and TangerinesBeverlyBilly the KidLookin' InAnother Place, Another Time

• Ode to Bobbie Gentry: The Capitol Years
  Aug 13, 2000

  Track listing: Mississippi DeltaOde to Billy JoeYou've Made Me So Very HappyThe Girl From CincinattiIn the GhettoHushabye MountainI Wouldn't Be SurprisedApartment 21He Made a Woman Out of MeFind 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget About 'EmSkip Along SamShow OffI'll Never Fall in Love AgainStormyChickasaw County GirlBig Boss ManAce Insurance ManReunionFancyTouch 'Em With LoveSon of a Preacher Man

• The Golden Classics of Bobbie Gentry
  1996

  Track listing: Mississippi DeltaI Saw an Angel DieChickasaw Country ChildSunday BestNiki HoekyPapa, Won't You Let Me Go to Town With YouBugsHurry, Tuesday ChildLazy WillieOde to Billie JoeLouisiana ManOkolona River Bottom BandHe Made a Woman Out of MeFancyApartmentAll I Have to Do Is DreamLet It Be MeMornin' Glory

• Local Gentry
  1967

  Track listing: Sweete PeonyCasket VignetteCome Away MelindaThe Fool on the HillPapa's Medicine ShowAce Insurance ManRecollectionSittin' PrettyEleanor RigbyPeacefulHere, There and Everywhere

• Ode to Billie Joe
  1966

  Track listing: Mississippi DeltaI Saw an Angel DieChickasaw County ChildSunday BestNiki HoekyPapa, Won't You Let Me Go to Town With You?BugsHurry, Tuesday ChildLazy WillieOde to Billie Joe

• Bobbie Gentry's Birthday
  Jul 26, 1944

  Bobbie Gentry was born