Ode to Billie Joe

33⅓ Main Series #102

by Tara Murtha

July, 1967: It seems the entire country stopped to listen to a husky voice steeped in the simmering secrets of the South tell a tragic tale of teenage suicide. So much for the Summer of Love. "Ode to Billie Joe" knocked the Beatles' "All You Need is Love" off the top of the charts, and Bobbie Gentry became an international star. Almost 50 years later, Gentry is as enigmatic and captivating as her signature song. Of course, fans still want to know why Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. They also wonder: Why did Bobbie Gentry, who has not performed or made a public appearance since the early 1980s, leave it all behind?

Through extensive interviews and unprecedented access to career memorabilia, Murtha explores the real-life mysteries ensnarled within the much-disputed origin of Ode to Billie Joe. The result is an investigative pop history that reveals, for the first time, the full breadth of Bobbie Gentry's groundbreaking career-and just may help explain her long silence.

Foreword by musician Jill Sobule.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Pop Culture, Biography

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2014

About the author

Tara writes about everything from policy to pop. Her work has earned many national and state journalism awards, including Distinguished Writer honors from the Pa. Newspaper Association three times and national first-place awards from the Association for Alternative Newsmedia. Her work exploring how the media portrays violence led to a 2012 Ochberg Fellow at Columbia University’s Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma. A reported essay exploring the Kermit Gosnell case and its affect on abortion regulations across the country has been anthologized by CherryBomb Books. She's the author of Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe for the critically acclaimed 33 1/3 series published by Bloomsbury Academic.

Reviews

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

One for the completists, though-- can there really be Bobbie Gentry completists out there ? Can an arguable 'one hit wonder' from the late sixties have clouds of completist fan-mania in its trail ? Just in case, I thought that I'd read this and report on exactly what that may entail.

Like any mystery, though, we need to keep this secret.

* There really was only the one hit song, called Ode To Billie Joe.
* Everybody who came close to the fabulous come-from-nowhere cash-cow of that hit claimed to have written it, produced it, played on it, inspired it, or had it stolen from them.
* In her favor, no particular piece of evidence proves that Bobbie Gentry did NOT write the song, and she's the one who sings it, almost without question.
* But nearly everything about Bobbie Gentry is a "well, sort of.."
* Family's from some godforsaken Mississippi county, yes, but she grew up in Southern California, starting at thirteen.
* At some point in her late teens she was --no, not a sleepy, dusty, delta girl, but--- a dancer working in Las Vegas.
* There are unsubstantiated 'stripper' stories; Gentry was great-looking, and this is a showbiz-standard sour-grapes kind of thing; nb, unsubstantiated.
* The trillion-seller track was recorded not in Memphis or Nashville but at the Capitol Records building, in Hollywood California, with the omnipresent backup musicians, The Wrecking Crew, commercial sidemen who played on everything from sinatra to the monkees.
* By all accounts she was/is an excellent businesswoman and established her artistic rights long before recording artists in general were able to do so..
* Nobody knows what was getting thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge in the song, even almost fifty years afterward.
* She has disappeared since the Eighties and no one is talking, least of all to the author of this book.

That's about all the time we have for this, which after you get through the spoilers, is a lot, really.
Worth a mention that back in Mississippi, in the aftermath of the hit song there was a related trend of people trying to commit suicide by jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge, as in the lyric. That the bridge was only about 20ft/6m high generally kept the casualties to a minimum. Hard to put a price on injured pride, though.

What stands out for this reader make that listener-- about the recorded song is that you get veiled glimmers of SoCal rock coming thru the vibe. That bakersville honkytonk thing that Gram Parsons, Poco, or later the Eagles would create as a mashed-up genre some time afterward. Add to that some vinegary southern-gothic, and that built-in rueful quality--

Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits, please...

... and you have a claustrophobic little moment in time somehow stranded between backwoods quirk and Vegas Americana on the skids ...

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like most other books in this series, this here pocket book is about profiling Gentry's debut album Ode to Billie Joe, but it's also very much about getting to the bottom of Bobbie's many mysteries, chief among them: where exactly is Bobbie Gentry and what has she been up to? In one of the more memorable chapters, the author admittedly treads a blurry line between music journalism and hardcore stanning over a bonanza of "Bobbiebilia" exhumed from the deep storage held by one of Gentry's relatives. For me, highlights include the author finding a kindred spirit in a like-minded obsessive fan tackling a similar investigation focused on the life and work of Jim Ford (a former beau of Gentry's), a newspaper piece complete with a photograph recalling Bobbie's days as a musician and hula dancer in a SoCal hapa-haole "tiki" ensemble, the detailed description of Gentry's fab Vegas shows (especially the “Diamonds by Tiffany, Jeans by Levi Strauss” show where Gentry performed wearing unbuttoned jeans with real million-dollar Tiffany diamonds sewn onto them), her connection to Barry White among other music industry luminaries, and the many examples of how she pushed her artistic will on her own terms as a visionary and musician in a man's profession.

[Rennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere between a 2 and a 3. I did really like learning anything at all about Bobbie Gentry, who is such a magnetically fascinating person (but would she be if she hadn't disappeared completely from the public eye many years ago?) She's also a brilliant businessperson, an incredible performer, and probably an oil painter of no small talent (it's believed she painted the boudoir-looking cover art for Fancy herself! And never even took credit for it! Is there anything this woman can't do?)

But honestly, there is nothing more dull to me than hearing the granular details of stuff getting done in the entertainment industry. That is, who took what song to what record label when with a contract for blah blah and said this 'n that and just zzzzzz. I can't. So I had to skim all of that. and there's quite a bit of it.

But where Tara Murtha looks at Gentry's significance in her particular moment in time, and the strange mystery of her withdrawal from the spotlight, alongside the mystery in the song that's captivated people for decades, this is really worthwhile. Although even the song doesn't seem much of a mystery anymore, or not one worth digging for answers for...if Gentry's explanations over the years as they're quoted here are correct, she's already broken down the whole thing. Just because you don't know what specifically they threw over the bridge, come on...let a little mystery remain (amazed that people were guessing it was a friggin fetus though before guessing, I don't know, maybe A RING? I am the Nancy Drew of this song).

And interesting just to see what a megahit Billy Joe was. I don't even like it all that much (Fancy is forever my fave!) but I love Bobbie Gentry's voice and Murtha does a good job of showing how Gentry herself wasn't all that different from the characters she created in her songs, I think she describes it at one point as a kind of intimacy with privacy. It's so strange, for someone self-described as a workaholic, that she chose the path she did. There's not really answers here, but then again no one has been able to get them.

Also the way Murtha breaks down Gentry's treatment as a woman who was a boss was so good. She even quotes Nicki Minaj's brilliant impromptu speech about the difference between "bossed up" and being a bitch. I love it! So there's a lot of good, just a bit much music industry stuff.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I admire about the 33 1/3 series is how the authors approach an album. In the case of Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe, we readers get a very well researched history about Bobbie Gentry including her reclusive way of living , the making of THAT hit song and then background (rather than technical details) about the album and then Gentry's foray into directing.

The overall picture is that Bobbie Gentry was a woman who had to fight her way in a male dominated business and, not only survived, but proved that she was better. Unlike most country folk stars she chose the producer and had a say and also she was in control of her image (something rare back then)

Some of the better 33 1/3 volumes are the ones that convince me to listen to the album and this one made me, so I guess, in my case, that's a winner. Saying that the 33 1/3 series are consistent and this volume is another one worth reading.

[keatssycamore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is fine. Not the worst, not the best. If you've listened to the cocaine and rhinestones episode, this will feel a little repetitive (and vice versa of course).

[Michael, BPL Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's puzzling there has not yet been a full length biography of Bobbie Gentry published. In the meantime, we have this gem from the 33 1/3 series by Tara Murtha.

The many dozens of articles I've read about BG are basically all the same - well known facts mixed with opinion and speculation. Tara Murtha did the real work for this book. She tracked down friends, relatives, and the men she had affiliations with. She made phone calls, she went on the road and talked to people face to face. She did research from primary sources and found photos and articles back to the early 60's.

Tara uses compelling scenes to bring life to the story, as when she visits BG's stepbrother who has a treasure chest of memorabilia, including a fur coat that he insists she try on. She digs up oddball characters from the past who worked in the music industry in relative obscurity, and who would later claim they had a stake in Bobbie's success.

Of course, much is made of BG's disappearance 40 years ago. Many musicians, artists, and writers have left the public eye (Rimbaud, Garbo, Barrett, Nyro, Salinger, etc.) at the height of success. That, to me, is not the mystery. Making art is both exhilarating and frustrating, and often exhausting. Adding success doesn't make it easier, and fame (which is not the same as success) can be an overwhelming burden. It's simply too much for a lot of people, and they walk away.

The real mysteries remain because there are questions no one has ever asked. Why did she decide to major in Philosophy at UCLA? What did she plan to do with that degree program? What did she learn at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music? What classes did she take there, and what did her professors think of her? Why didn't she go to another record label when she didn't renew her contract with Capitol? Why didn't the fans of singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, and Leonard Cohen embrace BG's albums, which are filled with thoughtful, literate, and creatively intriguing songs?

In fact, BG's whole life and career were filled with mysteries. There are so many unusual locales, characters, coincidences, and discrepancies about what happened, and how it happened, that the book almost reads like a parody of an investigative report about a fictional character, except it's all true... as far as we know!

For fans of Bobbie Gentry, the music industry of the 60's, celebrity mysteries, women in music - this is an absolute must read!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

You don't even need to have listened to "Ode to Billie Joe" to find this book a breezily entertaining read, and in terms of the way Murtha condenses a fairly sprawling subject into a brief book, it's one of the more satisfyingly ambitious entries in the 33 1/3 series. Gentry's refusal to participate is a shame, especially considering how thoroughly (and how passionately) Murtha did her research, but what really kept the book from deeply resonating with me is that I don't think it really makes a case for the level of importance it attempts to argue for Gentry and her work. This isn't Murtha's fault, really, it's just that you're talking about an artist with a small recorded output, much of which was overshadowed by one big hit single, whose mystique rests largely on her disappearance from public life. Still, all in all, this is worth a look for Gentry fans and rock writing-holics.

[Bruddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the summer of 1967, Capitol Records released a song by an unknown artist: Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry. The song became a number one hit and set Gentry off on a groundbreaking career as one of the first women performers in country music to not only write her own material but publish and produce it as well. She became the first woman in BBC history to host her own television show and at one point in the 1970s became the highest paid performer on the Las Vegas Strip. Ode to Billie Joe was eventually made into a successful film starring Robbie Benson.

In her book, Tara Murtha examines the roots of both the song and Gentry’s incredible career. Although first raised on a Mississippi farm without running water and electricity, near the Tallahatchie River, Gentry moved to California at 13 to be with her mother and new stepfather, where she attended UCLA as a philosophy major and then the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, with the intention of becoming a songwriter. Unable to hire musicians or a singer to market her material to Capitol, Gentry sent a demo of Ode to Billie Joe featuring Gentry herself singing to her own accompanying guitar. Capitol executives subsequently launched her career.

Bobbie Gentry produced seven albums in total, all for Capitol. They demonstrate her incredible range as both a performer and writer, covering everything from folk music to jazz standards. Having never heard a single song by her other than her most famous hit, while reading this book, I listened to the albums, and came away with the belief that Gentry was a brilliant artist. She abruptly left showbiz in the early 80s, a successful businesswoman and star, and has never appeared publicly or granted a single interview since.

[Jason Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½ stars. Despite the title of this slim volume, Tara Murtha takes on a different and unenviable challenge, trying to get to the bottom of Bobbie Gentry herself. Given the paucity and frankly contradictory information out there, Murtha acquits herself quite nicely. In the end, Ms. Gentry emerges as a strong, driven performer who takes hold of the reins of her career and doesn't let go, something pretty unheard of at the time. It's an interesting read that leaves the reader tantalized and wanting more, a bit like Ms. Gentry herself.

In terms of the song, admittedly it's a longtime favorite of mine. What Murtha comes to explain, echoing Ms. Gentry herself, it doesn't really matter what gets tossed off the Tallahatchee Bridge or why Billie Jo killed himself. The song is about indifference to pain and tragedy, and the inability of people--including family--to recognize and connect to one another's feelings (a theme picked up on by more than a few Southern writers, e.g. Pat Conroy in The Prince of Tides).

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for Bobbie Gentry fans. Although the book is slight, considering the dearth of information available about Gentry, it feels substantial. It doesn't answer the ultimate question--where the hell did she go??--but it does provide a window into who Bobbie was/is as an artist and a person. Also some clues into why she might have chosen to disappear in the first place. Kind of disappointed to read that she was an Ayn Rand fan in her early days. Hope she grew out of that!

A recent Washington Post article says Bobbie Gentry is alive and well, living on a lush estate in Somerville, Tennessee. Although she has clearly left the music business far behind, I hope she's still writing and playing songs. I hold out hope that she might pull aside the curtain one day and drop another album of classic songs on those of us who would so relish the chance to hear them.

[Ethan Sleeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather than more conventional music criticism, this one uses Ode to Billie Joe (and the eternal mystery of just what was thrown off the Tallahatchie bridge) as a jumping off point to ask the question “where did Bobbie Gentry go, and why?” It’s definitely pitched as investigative journalism more than most of the other entries in the series. It’s interesting to learn a bit more about the enigmatic Bobbie Gentry, but I would have loved more time spent thinking about the constructed narrative of “southernness” in the context of marketing, popular consciousness, and how she was viewed by peers and the press.

[Bill Sleeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really enjoyable. I learned so much about the artist (and a bit about THE song...never did like the movie). As a reader I could really feel author Tara Murtha's appreciation and respect for Gentry and her career. It was sad to me that such a dynamic person was remembered so often by her co-workers and peers for her looks. Murtha though successfully moves the reader past that to expose the skill and business savvy that Gentry brought to her career. Clearly Gentry lived her own life on her terms and left the business when she was ready to do so and not on anyone else's schedule. Bravo!

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Bobbie Gentry, especially the way it was handled in this book will always warrant a sense of wonderment. That being said, the one thing that was severely lacking in this book was a reflection on the album, as a whole. It was touched upon, but merely in relation to Bobbie's work as a pioneer in the music industry. Still, the writing was done well, and seemed to follow a pattern...just wish there was a touch more on the record.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reporter Murtha explains the genesis and technical creation of Bobbie Gentry’s iconic 1967 hit “Ode To Billie Joe” and full-length album of the same name, but more than that she answers the question that Jill Sobule and anyone who cares about pop music has been asking since the 80’s: where is Bobbie Gentry? Well-researched and informative, with attention duly paid to Gentry’s other highly worthwhile albums.

[Roz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, engaging and packed with photos, this volume of the 33/3rd series does a wonderful job not only of telling what went into the making of Bobbie Gentry’s most famous song/record, but explains how she seemingly came from nowhere and then vanished. I wish there were more answers, but that’s hardly the authors fault. Recommended for country fans.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has clearly researched this meticulously and clearly loves her subject. She pretty much uncovers everything there is to be learned about Bobbie Gentry and her work. However her subject is tenaciously reclusive so that is not a huge amount of information. This will likely be the definitive work on Bobbie Gentry and still that mystery remains

[J M-B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as accomplished an essay as others in this gem of a series, but worth a look at if you weren't lucky enough to live through the 60s/70s. It has to be given credit for signposting the reader to Bobbie Gentry's performance of Ode to Billie Joe on a TV variety show - go to You Tube and search 'Bobbie Gentry Smother Brothers'. A great performance.

[Chris A · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. I'll be sure to check out more from this series. There's about 100 out there if you're into band lore. Kind of like VH1's Classic Albums in pocket size.

[Christopher Renberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Author does what she can to discuss a figure that has done her best to vanish. Great song! Great artist! Where is Bobbie Gentry?

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing as it is largely speculative. I could have come up with these notions about Gentry and that classic song. Then again, Murtha actually wrote it down.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential for the obsessed. She did and does it her way. A tale of the tune and its life and times.

Cheers.

[Dean Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the best of this series, this is well researched and offers good insight on the music and the person that created it.

[James Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series and this one is a great read. Though it's about the famous song, it's also about Bobby Gentry. The scope is broader than the title suggests.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific background information on the classic Ode to Billie Joe and the career or Bobbie Gentry.

[Tom Deady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The story of Bobbie Gentry only adds to the beauty and mystery of the song.

[Mark Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. There is so much info on Bobbie that i never knew. It's like a who's who of cool
musicians that roam thru her story Jim Ford, Jody Reynolds, even Barry White! I also never how big she was in Vegas. I had read stories of her singing gospel late at night with Elvis, but little else about her success on the Vegas strip. Tara Murtha deserves big time applause for helping to keep Bobbie's legacy in the public eye.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 33 1/3 series is devoted to long form books on individual albums, but writers don't always adhere to that. In this case, Tara Murtha wisely goes beyond that narrow focus, in exploring the overall Bobbie Gentry story, which is of particular interest since she went all Greta Garbo in the early '80s and has been a recluse for decades.

So, to a degree, this is a biography. But since the song "Ode to Billie Joe" is so central to Gentry's story, Murtha doesn't ignore Gentry's music and its meaning and impact. But it's just part (albeit a large part) of a fascinating story. Murtha's book is as well sourced as it could be over 45 years after Gentry's big break and is a full a picture of this important talent as one could hope for in 2015.

[Mark Thiessen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlike other reviewers here, I found little substance to this work, and that was a great disappointment for it should have been a great read. There was no investigative work done to track down information about Gentry after the mid-80s, and it appears the author relied on one third-person party to broker a meeting (no check of property records to confirm home ownership in LA, Georgia). There were other gaping holes, for instance, who is/was this son that was only mentioned once? It read like a cheap, thin book one would flip through in line at the grocery store. For those who might argue this book is about the song and not the artist, I counter a poor investigative effort on one part of the story casts doubts on the entire effort.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books in this series can be hit or miss, but this one was exceptional. I've always been fascinated by what I like to call "country death songs" and Ode to Billie Joe was one of the first I can remember. But more than that, the song is an illustration of the southern tradition of indifference towards communicating about tough subjects.

I had no idea she wrote Fancy, one of my favorite southern gothic songs. The Geraldine Fibbers did a version that contains all the appropriate sass and anger, but Gentry's version is more like a "I told you I'd make it" take. Both fantastic.

Bobbie Gentry became a mystery. Much like the motivations of Billy Joe McAllister. This book discusses both, but clears up neither. Which is just alright by me.

[Ed Mckeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading a Facebook recommendation by Erin McKeown, I picked this up because, like millions of others, I'm captivated by the haunting Ode to Billy Joe. The 33 1/3 series is pretty amazing. Gifted authors write about a specific album, in a variety of styles and approaches. Murtha takes on the history of Bobbie Gentry's musical career, and the making of the single and LP. She also addresses Gentry's mysterious withdrawal from show business in 1984, and her subsequent status as the musical J.D. Salinger. This monograph provides an amazing look into the making of a hit record, and a musical star, and the Roshomon effect of trying to construct history from a variety of viewpoints.