Bobbie Gentry

At 79 years old, Bobbie Gentry has this physical status:

Bobbie Lee Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose and produce her own material.Gentry rose to international fame with her intriguing southern gothic narrative "Ode to Billie Joe" in 1967.

The track spent four weeks as the No. 1 pop song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was fourth in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967, earning Gentry Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1968.Gentry charted 11 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four singles on the United Kingdom Top 40.

Her album Fancy brought her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

After her first albums, she had a successful run of variety shows on the Las Vegas Strip.

In the late 1970s, Gentry lost interest in performing.

Since 2010 Gentry has lived in a private gated community outside Memphis, Tennessee.

Early life

Gentry was born Roberta Lee Streeter on July 27, 1942, near Woodland in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, to Ruby Lee (née Shipman; November 28, 1920 – April 2, 1989) and Robert Harrison Streeter. After her parents divorced shortly after her birth, her mother moved to California, leaving Gentry to be raised on a farm in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, by her paternal grandparents. She grew up without electricity or plumbing. Her grandmother traded one of the family's milk cows for a neighbor's piano, and, at age seven, Gentry composed her first song, "My Dog Sergeant Is a Good Dog." Gentry lived in Greenwood, Mississippi, with her father for a few years and learned to play the guitar and banjo.

At age 13, Gentry moved to Palm Springs, California, to live with her then-remarried mother. They performed as a duo, Ruby and Bobbie Meyers, for a short time. Gentry took her stage name from the 1952 film Ruby Gentry, which she had seen on television. In the film, Ruby (played by Jennifer Jones) was a poor but beautiful girl from the backwoods, who ended up marrying the town tycoon.

After graduating high school, Gentry moved to Los Angeles to enter UCLA as a philosophy major. She supported herself with clerical jobs, occasionally performing at nightclubs and country clubs, and when she appeared in a revue at Les Folies Bergeres nightclub in Las Vegas, Bob Hope encouraged her to keep performing. She worked as a fashion model, and on June 29, 1962, United Press International circulated a wire photo of Gentry that included Cheryl Crane, daughter of Lana Turner. Gentry transferred to the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, where she took classes in composition, music theory and arranging. While attending a Jody Reynolds concert at a club in Palm Springs in 1966, Gentry asked if she could sit in on one of Reynolds' recording sessions. This led to an invitation to sing on two duets with Reynolds: "Stranger in the Mirror" and "Requiem for Love". The two songs were released in September 1966 by Titan Records, but failed to chart.

Personal life

Gentry married casino magnate Bill Harrah on December 18, 1969, when he was 58 years old and she was 27. The couple divorced April 16, 1970. She married Thomas R. Toutant on August 17, 1976, whom she divorced on August 1, 1978. On October 15, 1978, Gentry married singer and comedian Jim Stafford with whom she had a son, Tyler Gentry Stafford. Gentry and Stafford divorced in September 1980.

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Career

In February and March 1967, Gentry recorded a demo at Whitney Recording Studio in Glendale, California. She had intended to write songs to sell to other artists, but telling The Washington Post that she only performed on "Ode to Billie Joe" that she went to Congress because it was cheaper than paying someone to perform it.

Gentry signed with Capitol Records on June 23, 1967, where staff producer Kelly Gordon would record Ode to Billie Joe's first full-length album for the label. But it was "Mississippi Delta," that was intended as the A-side of her first single and which eventually attracted Gentry's attention. "Mississi Delta" was the version released, but "Ode to Billie Joe" was a Jimmie Haskell dubbed into the original recording at Capitol, but "Mississippi Delta" was the version that was released. Capitol's A&R staff decided to make "Ode to Billie Joe" the A-side the day after the string session. The single was first published on July 10, 1967. It would spend four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and on the year-end chart, it will place third. On the Billboard Black Singles chart and at number eight on the UK Top 40, the single ranked eighth and number 13 on the Billboard Black Singles chart, and it ranked at number eight. Around the world, it has sold more than 3 million copies. "Ode to Billie Joe" was one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2001.

Following the single's success, the producers assembled the remainder of the album from the 12 demos Gentry had assembled, completing the overdubs in a matter of days. The result was a unique mash-up of blues, folk, and jazz elements that rounded out Gentry's recollections of her home, more like a concept album than a rushedly assembled collection of songs. Capitol pre-ordered 500,000 copies, the first pressing of a debut album in the brand's previous history. On August 21, the album debuted in supermarkets within a month of pressing. Ode to Billie Joe, who was replaced by Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, gaining No. 71. On the Billboard Black Albums chart, 5 places 5th. In 1967, Gentry received three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She was also named as the Most Promising Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music.

Gentry performed in San Diego, Italy, as one of two main performers of Vito Pallavicini and Massara's "La Siepe" in February 1968. Capitol released the song as a single, supported by another Italian song, "La Città è Grande" by Pallavicini and De Ponti, who was also recorded by Gentry.

The Delta Sweete, Gentry's second album, was released in February 1968. The album was a significant step beyond her debut in terms of musical ambition. Gentry's Mississippi Delta roots inspired this concept album. Gentry, who performed nearly every instrument on its tracks, including piano, guitar, banjo, bass, and vibes, makes up the majority of the song's sound. Nevertheless, Kelly Gordon, the brand's first appearance for the brand, earned full production credit for her book The Delta Sweete. Gentry gained two more entries on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. "Okolona River Bottom Band" reached number 54, while "Louisiana Man" made it to number ten in the top 100. Despite the fact that the album was unable to replicate its predecessor's popularity, only ranking 132 on the Billboard 200, critics have dubbed it one of the 1960s' unsurpassed masterpieces.

Impressed with Gentry's appearances on- and off-screen, the BBC's director invited her, in 1968, to host a variety show on BBC2, making her the first female songwriter to host a series on the network. She produced six half-hour episodes, with help from producer Stanley Dorfman, which aired weekly from July 13 to August 17 of this year. "She was pretty much co-directing the show after a few episodes because she had such good suggestions," Dorfman told author Tara Murtha. [But] the BBC would not have it, wouldn't have an artist named as a director or producer, so the credit went to me as producer and director. However, she did contribute as much as I did creatively to the show. She was just full of ideas."

Gentry's third album, Local Gentry, was released by The Delta Sweete, Capitol's third album, and it was released in August 1968. It didn't appear on any of Billboard's charts, but it did reach its high point on the Cashbox Top 100 Albums chart at number 83.

The artist's third album of 1968, Local Gentry, was released in September, just one month after the initial release of his debut. Duets with label mate Glen Campbell appear in Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell. The couple's chemistry made the relationship a huge success. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Top LP's chart and at number one on the Top Country LP's chart. The RIAA awarded Gentry and Campbell the Academy of Country Music award for Album of the Year, as well as Gold by the Academy of Country Music. Gentry was also selected for Top Female Vocalist.

In 1969, Gentry introduced a second series of shows for BBC2, which aired on a weekly basis from June 18 to July 23.

Touch 'Em With Love, Gentry's fifth album, came out in July 1969. It represented a change in her career: Gentry's re-branding as a blue-eyed soul singer, it contained fewer self-penned regional songs and more logically chosen cover songs. The album's ten songs, which was recorded in Nashville and produced by Kelso Herston, featured just two originals. The title track was released as the first single on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart, it fell to number 113, but only on the Billboard 200 reached number 164. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Gentry was the second single in the United Kingdom, where it became a top-one hit on the UK Singles Chart. The album debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, despite that.

Gentry taped four television specials for Canadian television station CFTO-TV Toronto in 1969 for North American syndication.

Fancy, Gentry's sixth album in three years, was released in April 1970. It's nothing more than Love's 1969 debut that includes only covers, except for the artist's self-penned title track. The bulk of the album was recorded at Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with producer Rick Hall. Gentry's first single, "Fancy," debuted as the album's first single, became Gentry's biggest success since "Ode to Billie Joe," with the album's first single debuting in the United States, Canada, and Australia, placing within the top 40. "Fancy is my best argument for women's lib," Gentry herself said of the song, "I believe that is the best statement for women's lib." I fully endorse the campaign and all the important issues [it stands for]: equality, equal pay, day care centers, and abortion rights," she told After Dark magazine in 1974.

The album's first European single, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," debuted at number 40. "He Made a Woman Out of Me," the album's second North American single, did not reach the same audience as "Fancy," peaking at number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100.

At the 13th Annual Grammy Awards, Gentry will be nominated for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female.

Gentry produced a third and final series of shows on BBC 2, as well as six weekly episodes (airing from February 1 to March 15 of this year).

In April 1971, Gentry introduced Patchwork. It has been described as a collection of short stories in song, ranging from country and pop to blues, stitched together with cinematic interludes to create a cohesive whole. Patchwork was Gentry's first completely self-written and produced album. "But I Can't Get Back" was a small hit on the Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening chart and rank 93 in Canada, with a single peaking at number 37 on the Billboard Top 40 and number 93. In August 1972, Gentry would debut "The Girl from Cincinnati" as one of the nation's first singles.

The entire executive board that had been at Capitol during Gentry's career was fired about the time Patchwork was announced. When parent company EMI tried to reclaim control and rekindle the label's dwindling revenues, a major restructuring took place at Capitol. With major cuts to production and marketing budgets, the artist roster dropped from 247 to 81. Negotiations stalled over Gentry's contract renewal terms, and Capitol's inability to strike a compromise caused a deadlock. Since Gentry was unable to announce an album with Capitol on the terms agreed, she discovered she was unable to launch an album on another brand, essentially leaving her with no option but to wait out the remaining option period of her contract.

In 1974, she appeared on CBS as The Bobbie Gentry Happiness Hour, a summer replacement variety show. The program, which was Glen Campbell's hit series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, was not renewed for a complete season.

Gentry wrote and performed "Another Place, Another Time" for writer-director Max Baer, Jr.'s film Macon County Line in 1975. Following the film's success, the song was released on a 7-inch single. Ode to Billy Joe, a 1976 film directed by Baer, based on Gentry's hit song and starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor. The mystery of the title character's suicide is revealed in the film as a result of the feud between his admiration for Bobbie Lee Hartley and a drunken homosexual encounter. Warner Bros. Records released a soundtrack of Michel Legrand's film "Ode to Billie Joe," which was re-titled "Ode to Billy Joe" in honor of the film's name, with Gentry stating that the original spelling was an error. The new version of Warner Bros. came as a single and Capitol re-released the original version, which gave Gentry two concurrent chart positions with the same song. Gentry's last single to chart will be released as a result of the re-recording, implying that her first and last chart entries are the same song.

Gentry reunited in 1977 with producer Rick Hall in Muscle Shoals to record an album for Warner Bros. Records' Curb Records division (unlike Gentry's 1969 Fancy album, Gentry's 1977 recording sessions with Hall were not at his FAME Studios but at the nearby Music Mill Studio). The album was shelved after being on a precursor single "Steal Away" on February 1978. These tracks, as well as "He Did Me Wrong, But He Did It Right," written by Gentry, will be published on Gentry's 1977 European compilation album Ode to Billie Joe, "Steal Away," a recreation of the 1964 Jimmy Hughes hit that had a ten-year absence, will be released on the Patti Dahlstrom composition "She Did Me Wrong" (written by Gentry).

On Christmas Day 1978, Gentry appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. On March 21, 1980, she received the Best of Vegas Awards.

Gentry was one of many famous guests to attend An All-Star Salute to Mother's Day on May 10, 1981. She performed "Mama, a Rainbow" from Minnie's Boys during the television special for her mother, who was in the audience. This is likely to be Gentry's last public appearance.

Gentry appeared in public for the first time on April 30, 1982, when she attended the Academy of Country Music Awards. She was 39 years old at the time. She hasn't recorded, performed, or been interviewed since that time. Gentry lives in a gated neighborhood near Memphis, Tennessee, according to one of 2016 news articles. Gentry lives in a gated neighborhood in Los Angeles, according to another.

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