Gentry in a publicity photo for Capitol Records in 1969
Born
Roberta Lee Streeter
(1942-07-27) July 27, 1942 (age 81)[1]
near Woodland, Mississippi, U.S.
Occupation
Singer-songwriter
Known for
"Ode to Billie Joe"
Spouses
Bill Harrah
(m. 1969; div. 1970)
Thomas R. Toutant
(m. 1976; div. 1978)
Jim Stafford
(m. 1978; div. 1980)
Children
1
Musical career
Genres
Country
pop
soul
Instrument(s)
Vocals, guitar
Years active
1966–1982
Labels
Titan (1966)
Capitol (1967–1972)
Brunswick (1975)
Warner Bros. (1976–1978)
Musical artist
Signature
Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942)[1] is a retired American singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material.[2][3]
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Southern Gothic narrative "Ode to Billie Joe".[4] The track spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was third in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967,[5] earning Gentry Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1968.[6]
Gentry charted 11 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four singles on the United Kingdom Top 40.[7] Her album Fancy brought her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[6] After her first albums, she had a successful run of variety shows on the Las Vegas Strip.[8] In the late 1970s, Gentry lost interest in performing, and retired from the music industry. News reports conflict on the subject of where she lives.
^ abMurtha, Tara (2015). Ode to Billie Joe. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-62356-964-8.
^"Bobbie Gentry".
^Milano, Brett (March 21, 2019). "Best Female Songwriters: An Essential Top 25 Countdown | uDiscover". uDiscover Music. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
^Ochs, Meredith (June 3, 2014). "The Confounding, Enigmatic 'Ode To Billie Joe'". Ode To Billie Joe. NPR. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
^"Chairborne Ranger Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Songs 1967". Chairborne Ranger. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
^ ab"Bobbie Gentry Grammies". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
^"UK Top 40 Hit Database". Everyhit.co.uk. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
^"Four decades since Bobbie Gentry shunned fame, a new box set restores her unrivaled legacy". Los Angeles Times. October 12, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
BobbieGentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in America to...
singer-songwriter BobbieGentry consists of seven studio albums, one live album, one soundtrack album and thirty compilation albums. Gentry also released...
BobbieGentry and Glen Campbell is a studio album by American singer-songwriters BobbieGentry and Glen Campbell. It was released on September 16, 1968...
"Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter BobbieGentry released by Capitol Records in July 1967, and later used as the title-track...
Local Gentry is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter BobbieGentry. It was released on August 26, 1968, by Capitol Records. The album was...
were the inspiration for Roberta Lee Streeter to sing under the name BobbieGentry. Ruby Corey, a poor backwoods girl living in the small North Carolina...
on August 9. She covered "Big Boss Man" on Mercury Rev's 2019 album BobbieGentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited. During live performances, Sandoval prefers...
Gentle on My Mind Won Top Male Vocalist Won 1968 Album of the Year BobbieGentry and Glen Campbell Won Top Male Vocalist Won TV Personality of the Year...
such as The Buckinghams, The Turtles, Aretha Franklin, The Doors, BobbieGentry, The Box Tops, Lulu, and Strawberry Alarm Clock. The Supremes, The Monkees...
version, entitled "Pendant les vacances", a big hit in France in 1963. BobbieGentry and Glen Campbell released a duet version in 1969. Their version reached...
Delta Sweete is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter BobbieGentry. It was released on February 5, 1968, by Capitol Records. The album...
Gang as "Sunday Mornin'". Released in December 1967, it reached No 30. BobbieGentry and Glen Campbell sang it as a duet in 1968. Also in 1968, Marie Laforêt...
Capitol Records as a staff producer. One of his first productions was BobbieGentry's "Ode to Billie Joe", where he took her demo of the song and overdubbed...
also 16 Horsepower The Builders and the Butchers Johnny Cash DeVotchKa BobbieGentry The Gun Club The Handsome Family Iron & Wine Legendary Shack Shakers...
on his 1968 album Black and White Glen Campbell and BobbieGentry on their 1968 album BobbieGentry & Glen Campbell Saxophonist Sonny Stitt on his 1969...
two artists were nominated for all four awards in one night. In 1968, BobbieGentry became the first person and first female artist to be nominated for...
"No One Can Drag Me Down" / "Disappear" (described by Gruff Rhys as "BobbieGentry and Nico fight over a Casio keyboard; melody wins!") on her website...
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