Chanteuse Country US née Roberta Streeter, le 27 juillet 1944 à Chickasaw County (Mississippi). Bobbie Gentry, excellente vocaliste inspirée par le Folk, a connu un énorme succès en 1967 avec l'harmonieux "Ode To Billie Joe". Elle est de nos jours plus populaire en Angleterre qu'aux Etats-Unis.
Bobbie
Gentry remains one of the most interesting and underappreciated artists to
emerge out of Nashville during the late '60s. Best-known for her crossover smash
"Ode to Billie Joe," she was one of the first female country artists to write
and produce much of her own material, forging an idiosyncratic, pop-inspired
sound that, in tandem with her glamorous, bombshell image, anticipated the rise
of latter-day superstars like Shania
Twain and Faith Hill. Of
Portuguese descent, Gentry was born Roberta Streeter in Chickasaw County, MS, on
July 27, 1944; her parents divorced shortly after her birth and she was raised
in poverty on her grandparents' farm. After her grandmother traded one of the
family's milk cows for a neighbor's piano, seven-year-old Bobbie composed her
first song, "My Dog Sergeant Is a Good Dog," years later self-deprecatingly
reprised in her nightclub act; at 13, she moved to Arcadia, CA, to live with her
mother, soon beginning her performing career in local country clubs. The 1952
film Ruby Gentry lent the singer her stage surname.
After graduating high school, Gentry settled in Las Vegas, where she appeared in
the Les Folies Bergère nightclub revue; she soon returned to California,
studying philosophy at U.C.L.A. before transferring to the Los Angeles
Conservatory of Music. In 1964, she made her recorded debut, cutting a pair of
duos — "Ode to Love" and "Stranger in the Mirror" — with rockabilly singer
Jody Reynolds. Gentry continued
performing in clubs in the years to follow before an early 1967 recording a demo
found its way to Capitol Records producer Kelly Gordon; upon signing to the
label, she issued her debut single, "Mississippi Delta." However, disc jockeys
began spinning the B-side, the self-penned "Ode to Billie Joe" — with its eerily
spare production and enigmatic narrative detailing the suicide of Billie Joe
McAllister, who flings himself off the Tallahatchie Bridge, the single struck a
chord on country and pop radio alike, topping the pop charts for four weeks in
August 1967 and selling three million copies. Although the follow-up, "I Saw an
Angel Die," failed to chart, Gentry nevertheless won three Grammy awards,
including Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal. She was also named the Academy
of Country Music's Best New Female Vocalist.
With her second album, 1968's The Delta Sweete, Gentry returned to the
country charts with the minor hit "Okolona River Bottom Band." Although her
recordings were typically credited to Capitol staff producers, she later
maintained she helmed the sessions herself and also wrote much of her own
material, drawing on her Mississippi roots to compose revealing vignettes that
typically explored the lifestyles, values, and even hypocrisies of the southern
culture. Favoring more soulful and rootsy arrangements over the lavish
countrypolitan style in vogue in Nashville at the time, Gentry's records sound
quite unlike anything on either the country or pop charts at the time and her
smoky, sensuous voice adapted easily to a variety of musical contexts. But to
many listeners, she remained a one-hit wonder and her excellent third album,
1968's Local Gentry, received little notice. That same year, Gentry
issued a duo album with Glen Campbell,
returning to the country Top 20 with "Let It Be Me"; the duo regularly
collaborated throughout the 1970s, scoring their biggest hit with a reading of
"All I Really Want to Do."
In 1969, Gentry reached her creative zenith with Touch 'Em With Love —
though cut in Nashville, the record owed far more to the gritty R&B sounds
emanating across the state in Memphis and generated her first U.K. number one, a
smoldering rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David perennial "I'll Never Fall
in Love Again." The single's success also earned Gentry her own short-lived BBC
television variety series. However, as her star diminished stateside, she became
a fixture of the Las Vegas circuit, mounting an elaborate nightclub revue that
she not only headlined but also wrote and produced, even overseeing the
choreography and costuming. Gentry's 1969 marriage to Desert Inn Hotel manager
Bill Harrah ended after only three months, but the following year she returned
to the county and pop Top 40 with the title cut from her fifth album Fancy.
In 1971, she issued her final Capitol effort, Patchwork, primarily
confining her performing to her nightclub act for the next several years. A CBS
summer replacement series, The Bobbie Gentry Happiness Hour, aired for
four episodes in 1974; Gentry next surfaced on the big screen, credited as co-writer
for a 1976 film adaptation of Ode to Billie Joe. After a second marriage,
to fellow singer/songwriter Jim Stafford, ended in 1979 after only 11 months,
Gentry gradually receded from public view, retiring from performing and
eventually settling in Los Angeles.
http://www.geocities.com/odetobobbiegentry/
Talents : Singer, Songwriter, Guitar, Banjo, Bass, Piano, Vibes, Autoharp, Dancer
Style musical : Country-Pop, Soft Rock, Pop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4ZCrMESar8
STRANGER IN THE MIRROR (1963)
ODE TO
BILLY JOE (1967)
MISSISSIPPI DELTA (1967)
|
|
Années en activité :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 |
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
| 1963 | SP TITAN FF-1736 (US) | Jody
REYNOLDS & Bobbie GENTRY -
Stranger In The Mirror
 / Requiem For Love |
|
| 1967 | SP CAPITOL CLF 5950 (US) |
 |
Ode To Billie Joe
/
Mississippi Delta
|
| 09/1967 | SP CAPITOL 5992 (US) | . | Papa Wont'cha Let Me Go To Town With You / I Saw An Angel Die |
| 11/1967 | SP CAPITOL 2044 (US) | . | Okolona River Bottom Band / Penduli Pendulum |
| 03/1968 | SP CAPITOL 2147 (US) | . | Louisiana Man / Countyard |
| 09/1968 | SP CAPITOL 2295 (US) | . | Hushabye Montain / Sweet Penny |
| 11/1968 | SP CAPITOL 2314 (US) | . | Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - Less Of Me / Morning Glory |
| 01/1969 | SP CAPITOL 2387 (US) | . | Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - Little Green Apples / Let It Be Me |
| 1969 | SP CAPITOL C006 80007 (F) |
 |
Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - Little Green Apples / Let It Be Me |
| 05/1969 | SP CAPITOL 2501 (US) | . | Casket Vignette / Touch'em With Love |
| 10/1969 | SP CAPITOL 2675 (US) | . | Fancy / Courtyard |
| 1970 | SP CAPITOL 6138 (US) | . | Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - Let It Be Me / Less Of Me |
| 1970 | SP CAPITOL 6140 (US) | . |
Ode To Billie Joe
/
Mississippi Delta
|
| 02/1970 | SP CAPITOL 2745 (US) | . | Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - All I Have To Do Is Dream / Less Of Me |
| 1970 | SP CAPITOL C006 80269 (F) |
 |
Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - All I Have To Do Is Dream / Walk Right Back |
| 03/1970 | SP CAPITOL 2788 (US) | . | He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Billy The Kid |
| 06/1970 | SP CAPITOL 2849 (US) | . | Apartment 21 / Seasons Come Seasons Go |
| 03/1971 | SP CAPITOL 3071 (US) | . | But I Can't Get Back / Marigolds And Tangerines |
| 08/1972 | SP CAPITOL 3413 (US) | . | Girl From Cincinnati / You And Me Together |
| 1973 | SP CAPITOL 6187 (US) | . | Fancy / He Made A Woman Out Of Me |
| 1974 | SP CAPITOL 6240 (US) | . | Bobbie GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - All I Have To Do Is Dream / Medley |
| 1975 | SP BRUNSWICK B-55517 (US) | . | Another Place Another Time / I Think I'll Cry Out Lord |
| 06/1976 | SP CAPITOL 4294 (US) | . | Ode To Billie Joe (remake) / Mississippi Delta |
| 05/1976 | SP WARNER BROS. WBS 8210 (US) | . | Ode To Billie Joe (main title) / + Michel LEGRAND |
| 02/1978 | SP WARNER BROS. WBS 8532 (US) | . | Steal Away / He Did Me Wrong But He Did It Right |
| 1986 | SP COLUMBIA 38-06058 (US) | . |
Ode To Billie Joe
/ Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue |
Albums
| 1967 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 2830 (US) |
 |
ODE TO BILLIE JOE - Mississippi Delta / I Saw An Angel Die / Chickasaw County Child / Sunday Best / Niky Hoeky / Papa Woncha Let Me Go To Town With You / Bugs / Hurry Tuesday Child / Lazy Willie / Ode To Billie Joe | ||
| 1968 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 2842 (US) |
 |
THE DELTA SWEETE - Okolona River Bottom Band / Big Boss Man / Reunion / Parchman Farm Blues / Mornin' Glory / Sermon / Tobacco Road / Penduli Pendulum / Jessye' Lisabeth / Refractions / Louisiana Man / Courtyard | ||
| 1968 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 2928 (US) |
 |
GLEN CAMPBELL AND BOBBIE GENTRY - Bobby GENTRY & Glen CAMPBELL - Less Of Me / Little Green Apples / Gentle On My Mind / Heart To Heart Talk / My Elusive Dreams / Imagination / Morning Glory / Terrible Tangled Web / Sunday Morning / Let It Be Me / Scarborough Fair / Canticle | ||
| 1968 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 2964 (US) |
 |
LOCAL GENTRY - Sweete Peony / Casket Vignette / Come Away Melinda / Fool On The Hill / Papa's Medicine Show / Ace Insurance Man / Recollection / Sittin' Pretty / Eleanor Rigby / Peaceful / Here There And Everywhere | ||
| 1968 | LP EMI 56006 (UK) |
 |
WAY DOWN SOUTH - Okolona River Bottom Band / Big Boss Man / Reunion / Parchman Farm / Mornin' Glory / Sermon / Tobacco Road / Penduli Pendulum / Jessye' Lisabeth / Refractions / Louisiana Man / Courtyard | ||
| 1969 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 155 (US) |
 |
TOUCH 'EM WITH LOVE - Touch 'em With Love / Greyhound Goin' Somewhere / Natural To Be Gone / Seasons Come / Glory Hallelujah How They'll Sing / I Wouldn't Be Surprised / Son Of A Preacher Man / Where's The Playground Johnny / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / You've Made Me So Very Happy | ||
| 1969 | LP 12" CAPITOL SKAO 381 (US) |
 |
BOBBIE GENTRY'S GREATEST ! - Ode To Billie Joe / Mississippi Delta / Okolona River Bottom Band / Penduli Pendulum / Sweete Peony / Ace Insurance Man / Touch 'em With Love / Glory Hallelujah How They'll Sing / Papa's Medicine Show / Sittin' Pretty | ||
| 1970 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 428 (US) |
 |
FANCY - Fancy / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Delta Man / Something In The Way He Moves / Find 'em Fool 'em And Forget 'em / He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head / If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody / Rainmaker / Wedding Bell Blues | ||
| 1970 | LP 12" CAPITOL ST 494 (US) |
 |
PATCHWORK - Benjamin / Marigolds And Tangerines / Billy The Kid / Beverly / Miss Clara Azusa Sue / But I Can't Get Back / Jeremiah / Belinda / Mean Stepmama Blues / Your No.1 Friend / Somebody Like Me / Lookin' In | ||
| 1970 | LP 12" CAPITOL 21608 (UK) |
 |
I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN - I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Something In The Way He Moves / Rainmaker / Billy The Kid / Wedding Bell Blues / Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head / Fancy / In The Ghetto / Find 'em Fool 'em And Forget 'em / Delta Man / He Made A Woman Out Of Me / If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody | ||
| 1970 | LP 12" CAPITOL 80275 (UK) |
 |
PORTRAIT - Mississippi Delta / Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You / Ode To Billie Joe / Sermon / Less Of Me / Sweet Peony / Mornin' Glory / Natural To Be Gone / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Eleanor Rigby / Ace Insurance Man / Where's The Playground Johnny / Touch 'em With Love / Greyhound Going Somewhere | ||
| 1970 | LP 12" CAPITOL 2057 (UK) |
 |
BOBBIE GENTRY'S GREATEST HITS - Ode To Billie Joe / Mississippi Delta / Okolona River Bottom Band / Penduli Pendulum / Sweet Peony / All I Have To Do Is Dream / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Ace Insurance Man / Touch 'em With Love / Glory Hallelujah How They'll Sing / Fancy / Scarborough Fair - Canticle / Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head / If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody | ||
| 1971 | LP 12" CAPITOL 705 (UK) |
 |
SITTIN' PRETTY - Sweete Peony / Casket Vignette / Fool On The Hill / Papa's Medicine Show / Ace Insurance Man / Recollection / Sittin' Pretty / Eleanor Rigby / Peaceful / Here There And Everywhere | ||
| 1971 | LP 12" CAPITOL 706 (UK) |
 |
TOBACCO ROAD - Okolona River Bottom Band / Louisiana Man / Reunion / Mornin' Glory / Sermon / Tobacco Road / Penduli Pendulum / Jessye' Lisabeth / Refractions / Courtyard | ||
| 1971 | LP 12" CAPITOL 6715 (UK) |
 |
YOUR NO. 1 FAN - Your No 1 Fan / Seasons Come Seasons Go / Billie The Kid / Refractions / Chickasaw County Child / Benjamin / I Saw An Angel Die / Belinda / Mornin' Glory / Fancy | ||
| 1973 | LP 12" CAPITOL 802 (UK) |
 |
THE VERY BEST OF BOBBIE GENTRY - Ode To Billie Joe / Okolona River Bottom Band / Mississippi Delta / Fancy / Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head / Penduli Pendulum / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / The Girl From Cincinnati / Tobacco Road / Son Of A Preacher Man / Touch 'Em With Love | ||
| 1976 | LP 12" WARNER BROS. BS-2947 (US) |
 |
ODE TO BILLY JOE (Soundtrack) - Ode To Billy Joe / By The Pond / On The Bridge / Night / Reflections / Moring Stillness / There'll Be More Time (Love Theme) / Magnolia Turn-Around / Rattle Snake Daddy / Standing Pine Breakdown / Memphis Thelma / Ode To Billy Joe | ||
| 09/1990 | CD CURB 77387 (US) |
 |
GREATEST HITS - Ode To Billie Joe / Fancy / Okolona River Bottom Band / Morning Glory / Louisiana Man / Slow Cookin' / Steal Away / All I Have To Do Is Dream / Let It Be Me / Mississippi Delta / Penduli Pendulum | ||
| 1992 | CD CAPITOL 98039 (US) |
 |
COUNTRY CLASSICS - Ode To Billie Joe / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Where's The Playground Johnny / Big Boss Man / Tobacco Road / Come Away Melinda / Fool On The Hill / Here There And Everwhere / Billy The Kid / In The Ghetto / If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody / Okolona River Bottom Band / Louisiana Man / Fancy / He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Apartment 21 | ||
| 01/1998 | CD COLLECTABLES 5862 (US) |
 |
GOLDEN CLASSICS - Mississippi Delta / I Saw An Angel Die / Chickasaw County Child / Sunday Best / Niky Hoeky / Papa Woncha Let Me Go To Town With You / Bugs, Hurry Tuesday Child / Lazy Willie / Ode To Billie Joe / Louisiana Man / Okolona River Bottom Band / He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Fancy / Apartment 21 / All I Have To Do Is Dream / Let It Be Me / Mornin' Glory | ||
| 11/2000 | CD EMI 527719 (US) |
 |
ODE TO BOBBIE GENTRY - Mississippi Delta / I Saw An Angel Die / Chickasaw County Child / Sunday Best / Niki Hoeky / Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You / Bugs / Hurry Tuesday Child / Lazy Willie / Ode To Billie Joe / Louisiana Man / Okolona River Bottom Band / He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Fancy / Apartment 21 / All I Have To Do Is Dream / Let It Be Me / Mornin' Glory | ||
| 08/2002 | CD RAVEN 1302 (AUS) |
 |
AN AMERICAN QUILT - 1967-1974 - Ode To Billie Joe / Mississippi Delta / I Saw An Angel Die / Okolona River Bottom Band / Mornin' Glory / Sermon / Penduli Pendulum / Jessye' Lisabeth / Refractions / Courtyard / Sweet Peony / Casket Vignette / Recollection / Sittin' Pretty / Touch 'em With Love / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Fancy / Apartment 21 / Benjamin / Marigolds And Tangerines / Billy The Kid / Beverly / Your Number One Fan / Somebody Like Me / Lookin' In / Another Place Another Time | ||
| 04/2004 | CD SHOUT 32278 (US) |
 |
CHICKASAW COUNTY CHILD - Ode To Billie Joe / Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You / Mississippi Delta / I Saw An Angel Die / Bugs / Hurry Tuesday Child / Chickasaw County Child / Okolona River Bottom Band / Penduli Pendulum / Mornin' Glory / Jessye' Lisabeth / Refractions / Casket Vignette / Hushabye Mountain / Girl From Cincinnati / Fancy / Apartment 21 / Benjamin / Marigolds And Tangerines / Beverly / Billy The Kid / Lookin' In / Another Place Another Time | ||
| 06/2005 | CD EMI 3115642 (UK) |
 |
THE BEST OF BOBBY GENTRY - I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Something In The Way He Moves / Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head / All I Have To Do Is Dream / Walk Right Back / Seasons Come, Seasons Go / Son Of A Preacher Man / You've Made Me So Very Happy / Mississippi Delta / Ode To Billie Joe / Tobacco Road / The Fool On The Hill / Eleanor Rigby / Here, There And Everywhere / Where's The Playground, Johnny / Gentle On My Mind / In The Ghetto / Little Green Apples / My Elusive Dreams / Mornin' Glory | ||
| 05/2006 | CD RAVEN 220 (AUS) |
 |
THE DELTA SWEETE / LOCAL GENTRY - Okolona River Bottom Band / Big Boss Man / Reunion / Parchman Farm Blues / Mornin' Glory / Sermon / Tobacco Road / Penduli Pendulum / Jessye' Lisabeth / Refractions / Louisiana Man / Courtyard / Sweete Peony / Casket Vignette / Come Away Melinda / Fool On The Hill / Papa's Medicine Show / Ace Insurance Man / Recollection / Sittin' Pretty / Eleanor Rigby / Peaceful / Here There And Everywhere / Stormy / Skip Along Sam / Away In A Manger | ||
| 02/2007 | CD EMI 8289042 (UK) |
 |
THE BEST OF BOBBY GENTRY - Ode To Billie Joe / All I Have To Do Is Dream (with Glen CAMPBELL) / Ill Never Fall In Love Again / Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head / Mississippi Delta / Little Green Apples (with Glen CAMPBELL) / Natural To Be Gone / Son Of A Preacher Man / Seasons Come Seasons Go / Gentle On My Mind (with Glen CAMPBELL) / Touch Em With Love / Where's The Playground Johnny / My Elusive Dreams (with Glen CAMPBELL) / Greyhound Goin Somewhere / You've Made Me So Very Happy / Mornin Glory (with Glen CAMPBELL) / I Wouldn't Be Surprised / Ace Insurance Man / Glory Hallelujah How They'll Sing / Let It Be Me (with Glen CAMPBELL) | ||
| 02/2007 | 2 CD EMI / CAPITOL 77338 (UK) |
 |
THE BEST OF BOBBY GENTRY - THE CAPITOL YEARS :
|
||
| 05/2007 | CD RAVEN 251 (AUS) |
 |
PATCHWORK / FANCY - Benjamin / Marigolds And Tangerines / Billy The Kid / Beverly / Miss Clara Azusa Sue / But I Can't Get Back / Jeremiah / Belinda / Mean Stepmama Blues / Your No.1 Friend / Somebody Like Me / Lookin' In / | ||
| 10/2008 | CD RAVEN 287 (AUS) |
 |
ODE TO BILLIE JOE / TOUCH 'EM WITH LOVE - Mississippi Delta / I Saw An Angel Die / Chickasaw County Child / Sunday Best / Niky Hoeky / Papa Woncha Let Me Go To Town With You / Bugs / Hurry Tuesday Child / Lazy Willie / Ode To Billie Joe / Touch 'em With Love / Greyhound Goin' Somewhere / Natural To Be Gone / Seasons Come / Glory Hallelujah How They'll Sing / I Wouldn't Be Surprised / Son Of A Preacher Man / Where's The Playground Johnny / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / You've Made Me So Very Happy / Scarlet Ribbons / The Girl From Cincinnati / You And Me Together / Let It Be Me / All I Have To Do Is Dream / Walk Right Back / En Todas Partes / Fancy / I'll Never Fall In Love Again / Delta Man / Something In The Way He Moves / Find 'em Fool 'em And Forget 'em / He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head / If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody / Rainmaker / Wedding Bell Blues |
© Rocky Productions 1/12/2009
