It was a step forward for a woman to be a song writer…She was raised on her grandparents’ farm in Chickasaw county, after her parents got divorced. However at 13 she moved to live with her mother in California. But she returned to her country Southern roots…
In 1960, she graduated High school and began to sing in small country clubs. She went to university and found temporary clerical jobs, but her heart was in singing and song writing. She was a very lovely girl, who also found some work as a model….which helped her eke out a living...
She used the stage name Gentry, from a film called Ruby Gentry…
In 1967, she wrote her most famous song, “Ode to Billy Joe”, which is a Southern Gothic tale about a girl mourning the death of Billy Joe... who “jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”.
The song is a mystery... we never know why Billy committed suicide, or what he and the girl were doing. It’s about grief and non-communication. It was a chart topper, but her second album didn’t do so well. However in the late 60’s she had a good deal of success in the UK and had a TV show. She also performed in Las Vegas… In the 70s, Max Baer directed a film based on Ode to Billy Joe...
However in the later 70s, after a successful career and 3 short lived marriages, Bobbie decided to retire from performing. She has business interests, but now lives a private life in Memphis…
