The best part of this...she really sang it live. No lip-syncing at all. I can recall the studio recording, and this has different phrasing in places. What a voice, beautiful woman.
Bobbie Jo Gentry set a STANDARD for future country/pop singers I was a young girl when she was in her heyday loved/still love her music! At the time she was JUST too intimidating to other country singers she put her foot down and got things done! as Bing Crosby said laughingly "it's a surprise she does not get a toll fee to access of the bridge" I personally think she is one of the most underrated country/pop singers of the 60/70 she paved the way for all of your fav country/pop female artists!
Holy holly! Great performance, that she stayed in character right through to and past the song's ending, even to sit at said dinner table. What a breath-taking stage performance.
Truly one of the greatest American songs ever written-and boy could she sing!!! My parents introduced me to their generation of music in the early 70's-Stuff like this and Fever, 16 tons, That Old Black Magic, Tom Dooley, etc...Still resonates w me today..
This is one of the most authentic short stories of the South I've ever heard. The mealtime conversation, the way things are said, the sadness of it all --- so real if it were a concrete object you could reach out and touch it.
Bobbie herself has said that the bridge and what was thrown off are red herrings. It is conversation, or lack thereof, that is the heart of the song.....the disconnect, much as we all watched TV ,ate dinner and watched the Vietnam War explode in front of us.
Not only that, but Bobbie revealed that the song is about "unconscious cruelty", i.e., the way her parents and brother talk about Billy Joe, who was obviously important to the storyteller, as if she weren't there.
I don't think anyone cares but this was the #1 song when the last Tom and Jerry short cartoon was released and I feel like the mood of the song fits pretty well with that occurrence. For some reason I like finding coincidences with moods of popular music and cartoons at a certain point in time.
I remember seeing this when it was aired. The touch of her joining the others at the table knocked the wind out of us, my whole family. I think even my dad was moved to tears. My creative writing teacher talked about the brilliance of the words and the subtext behind them. And did you know this song was originally intended to be the "B" side of the single? I recall reading that halfway through the recording they knew it would be the "A" side instead.
If you're a Gen X'er, you couldn't help but be totally haunted by this song. I think this and the book Hollywood Babylon explains a lot about my generation and how we turned out
@@Danimal1577My mom used to play this record, and Harper Valley PTA, all the time when I was a kid. She never would explain to me why Billie Joe jumped, or all the sex references in Harper Valley lol
Added to the goth list although this song is more of a southern gothic like a William Faulkner novel. The real horror in the song starts to hit when it dawns on you that the uneasy feeling in this song is due to its very ordinariness.
@nowonderl4get Bobbie Gentry was born in 1944. Not sure if she ever was a model, she could have been but certainly not now at 72 years old. Take a look at the year...this song came out in 1967 and, yes, around that time she certainly was a stunningly beautiful woman. She certainly is on my top 20 most beautiful women ever list. From what I gather she still is alive. In the early 80's she lost interest in the music business and just disappeared. It is a shame that is the case because I think there could have been more great songs coming from her. Even though I am not a fan of country music, I like this style, the kind that tells a story. Not the overly used worn out romance, cheating, or "I got my old dog, and beat up pickup truck" country songs either (can't stand those). Ode To Billie Joe has substance, its a GOOD story. Charlie Daniels is another that tells very good stories in their songs. Devil Went Down To Georgia, Legend of Wooley Swamp are excellent examples. Heck Reba McEntire's Fancy falls in the same vein as well and normally I don't care for Reba McEntire. Its a GREAT song, BUT wait...Guess what? Fancy was written by Bobbie Gentry. HA! In short she's a wonderful woman.
Diaval You're not listening to the right country then, if you think it's all about pickup trucks and losing your dog. Listen to country from the 60's and 70's. Those were golden eras
Just a bit of information - Bobbie Gentry indeed was a model for a short while. She modeled bathing suits for a department store in California before she started in music professionally.
When that beautiful woman sang this, she was built like a brick Barbie. Shallow perhaps, but true. I was a teenagers then, and that's the way I remember it.
The best part of this...she really sang it live. No lip-syncing at all. I can recall the studio recording, and this has different phrasing in places. What a voice, beautiful woman.
Bobbie Jo Gentry set a STANDARD for future country/pop singers I was a young girl when she was in her heyday loved/still love her music! At the time she was JUST too intimidating to other country singers she put her foot down and got things done! as Bing Crosby said laughingly "it's a surprise she does not get a toll fee to access of the bridge" I personally think she is one of the most underrated country/pop singers of the 60/70 she paved the way for all of your fav country/pop female artists!
Holy holly! Great performance, that she stayed in character right through to and past the song's ending, even to sit at said dinner table. What a breath-taking stage performance.
Truly one of the greatest American songs ever written-and boy could she sing!!! My parents introduced me to their generation of music in the early 70's-Stuff like this and Fever, 16 tons, That Old Black Magic, Tom Dooley, etc...Still resonates w me today..
This is one of the most authentic short stories of the South I've ever heard. The mealtime conversation, the way things are said, the sadness of it all --- so real if it were a concrete object you could reach out and touch it.
Not to mention having to hide things, because of social disapproval
Wow...W H A T A W O M A N!...let alone the song. Man, there's some beautiful women on this here planet.
It was spellbinding the first time it was played on the radio in 1967.
It's not necessarily the story but the way it's told.... perfect
Song was tenderness & touching at sametime. And Bobbie was just beautiful .
Thanks, Iggy. Love that she is miming for real on that little guitar.
Beyond breathlessly iconic. Small wonder.
Bobbie herself has said that the bridge and what was thrown off are red herrings. It is conversation, or lack thereof, that is the heart of the song.....the disconnect, much as we all watched TV ,ate dinner and watched the Vietnam War explode in front of us.
Not only that, but Bobbie revealed that the song is about "unconscious cruelty", i.e., the way her parents and brother talk about Billy Joe, who was obviously important to the storyteller, as if she weren't there.
Pretty sure she was pregnant, Billy Joe was the father, and they were throwing their self aborted baby off the bridge!
Pandora Jones daaaaaaaaamn /:
My favorite version.
I don't think anyone cares but this was the #1 song when the last Tom and Jerry short cartoon was released and I feel like the mood of the song fits pretty well with that occurrence. For some reason I like finding coincidences with moods of popular music and cartoons at a certain point in time.
Great voice. I remember everyone trying to figure out what they were throwing off the bridge.
i have been a fan of hers forever
I remember seeing this when it was aired. The touch of her joining the others at the table knocked the wind out of us, my whole family. I think even my dad was moved to tears. My creative writing teacher talked about the brilliance of the words and the subtext behind them. And did you know this song was originally intended to be the "B" side of the single? I recall reading that halfway through the recording they knew it would be the "A" side instead.
So funny that you said this, as MY dad completely flipped over the design as well.
very lovely memories......thank you much.....
Brilliant
I have been at that table.
I love the George Segal genre sculptures!!
Look him up!!!
If you're a Gen X'er, you couldn't help but be totally haunted by this song. I think this and the book Hollywood Babylon explains a lot about my generation and how we turned out
Pandora Jones yup
@@Danimal1577My mom used to play this record, and Harper Valley PTA, all the time when I was a kid. She never would explain to me why Billie Joe jumped, or all the sex references in Harper Valley lol
Added to the goth list although this song is more of a southern gothic like a William Faulkner novel. The real horror in the song starts to hit when it dawns on you that the uneasy feeling in this song is due to its very ordinariness.
Your goth list sounds a lot like my suicide list.
(but the un-ordinary implication of death. Most people live life out...)
I was born the same year as she was...wonder what she looks like now.
This song wins as the second most depressing song of the 20th Century after "The Beginning Of My End," by the Unifics.
Artist Temple Listen to some Townes Van Zandt
@nowonderl4get Bobbie Gentry was born in 1944. Not sure if she ever was a model, she could have been but certainly not now at 72 years old. Take a look at the year...this song came out in 1967 and, yes, around that time she certainly was a stunningly beautiful woman. She certainly is on my top 20 most beautiful women ever list. From what I gather she still is alive. In the early 80's she lost interest in the music business and just disappeared. It is a shame that is the case because I think there could have been more great songs coming from her. Even though I am not a fan of country music, I like this style, the kind that tells a story. Not the overly used worn out romance, cheating, or "I got my old dog, and beat up pickup truck" country songs either (can't stand those). Ode To Billie Joe has substance, its a GOOD story. Charlie Daniels is another that tells very good stories in their songs. Devil Went Down To Georgia, Legend of Wooley Swamp are excellent examples. Heck Reba McEntire's Fancy falls in the same vein as well and normally I don't care for Reba McEntire. Its a GREAT song, BUT wait...Guess what? Fancy was written by Bobbie Gentry. HA! In short she's a wonderful woman.
Diaval You're not listening to the right country then, if you think it's all about pickup trucks and losing your dog. Listen to country from the 60's and 70's. Those were golden eras
Just a bit of information - Bobbie Gentry indeed was a model for a short while. She modeled bathing suits for a department store in California before she started in music professionally.
@@gwenniegirl50 Didn't know she was a model, but certainly wouldn't doubt it as she is extremely beautiful.
not sure I agree with way top 100 is listed but whatever can still find songs I like skip bad ones :P
When that beautiful woman sang this, she was built like a brick Barbie.
Shallow perhaps, but true. I was a teenagers then, and that's the way
I remember it.
Definitely attractive but she's not modeling ???
It's a great song the south and Mississippi.