By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 12:54 pm: |
Hope I dont freak u all out but I was wondering what happened to her. I did some research and apparently she "vanished" 20 years ago,lives in semi-seclusion in Los Angeles. Anyone know anything? Didnt Ode to Billie Joe hit the soul charts or am I delirious?
By STUBASS (152.163.252.68) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 01:00 pm: |
DELERIOUS ONE: IT'S POSSIBLE THAT "ODE TO BILLIE JOE" HIT THE SOUL CHARTS...AT LEAST IT WAS PLAYED ON SOME SOUL STATIONS!!!...MS. GENTRY MARRIED THE ELDERLY OWNER OF HARRAH'S CASINO'S (SORTA LIKE ANNA NICOLE...BUT UNLIKE ANNA... MR. HARRAH...BY ALL REPORTS...SURVIVED THE MARRAGE)...AND IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HER IN YEARS...IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE...AFTER DIVORCING HIM...SHE WAS SET FOR LIFE AND DIDN'T NEED TO TALK TO ANY OF *US*!!!...STUBASS
By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 03:06 pm: |
HMMMMMM-well sb Ms Ross was set for life but we keep hearing from her! Bobbie is thought to be an excellent songrwriter and she has a good voice-wonder y she left the biz.
By douglasm (68.113.13.31) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 03:44 pm: |
Marriage to Jim Stafford? I guess she didn't like "Spiders and Snakes".
By STUBASS (205.188.209.109) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 03:49 pm: |
OK VANDELRON: HERE'S THE BEST I CAN GIVE YOU ON ROBERTA LEE STREETER (AKA BOBBIE GENTRY)!!!...BORN IN MISSISSIPPI IN 1944...MOVED WITH MOM TO ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA (AN AREA I'M FAMILIAR WITH) AT ABOUT AGE 13...THEN ON TO PALM SPRINGS!!!...PURSUED A DEGREE AT UCLA...THEN ONTO MUSIC CONSERVATORY!!!..."ODE TO BILLIE JOE" WAS A "B" SIDE DEMO...WHICH WAS CUT FROM 7 MINUTES TO 4 MINUTES FOR RADIO AIRPLAY...AND THE REST IS HISTORY...INCLUDING AN IMPRESSIVE PORTFOLIO OF SONGS!!!...WORKED IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES IN VEGAS...MARRIED AND DIVORCED THE MILLIONAIRE...HAD A T.V. SHOW...AND MOVED BACK TO L.A. TO WORK IN FILM PRODUCTION BEHIND THE SCENES!!!...WHY SHE RETIRED TO A PRIVATE LIFE TWO DECADES AGO...NO ONE KNOWS...OR AT LEAST NO ONE IS SAYING!!!...STUBASS
By Greg C. (207.103.134.139) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 06:03 pm: |
I'm not sure if it hit the soul charts because for awhile in the sixties Billboard didn't keep track of black music and most of it ended upon the pop charts, if it charted at all.
"Ode To Billy Joe" is a powerful song for me and it stirs up some serious memories. It came out during the Summer of 1967 when I was a kid living in Detroit and if anyone remembers what happened that summer in Detroit, they can truly relate. I used to hear that on CKLW and WJLB and WCHB during the riots all day and all night and it was absolutely haunting! That song along with Jose Feliciano's "Light My Fire" (ironic) which was out at the same time really shook up my soul...
By STUBASS (152.163.252.68) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 06:11 pm: |
GREG: IT'S INTERESTING...BUT ACCORDING TO MS. GENTRY...THE TRUE MEANING OF "ODE TO BILLY JOE" WAS SUMMED UP IN ONE WORD!!!..."INDIFFERENCE"!!!...STU
By Larry (69.3.130.162) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 06:15 pm: |
Greg C.
You're writing my story man. Another thing I remember about Feliciano's "Light My Fire" was his solo. That one guitar flourish in the Flamenco style blew me out total. I remember it as the fastest playing I'd heard in Pop.
Your last name isn't Cloutier is it?
By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 08:01 pm: |
Soul/R and B chart was only not published in "64;didnt the movie take the angle that the young guy jumped off the bridge because he was gay?Ms Gentry did the song again for the movie and it charted again.
By Joe Moorehouse (152.163.252.68) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 08:35 pm: |
Data: Ode to Billy Joe peaked at #18 on the Cashbox R&B charts and at #8 on the Billboard R&B charts in September '67.
I remember liking the song as a kid when it was on the charts, and reading an article that said it was brilliantly written. But I thought it wasn't well written at all because of lines like:
"And Papa said to Mama as he passed around the blackeyed peas
'Well Billy Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please'"
I figured she's had to write in this lunch conversation to make the lines rhyme, and it seemed really awkward. Years later I realized that was exactly the point, and the lines I'd thought were most poorly written really were conveying the song's meaning. The lyrics are amazingly complex, and seem to me more in the tradition of Southern short stories (Flannery O'Connor, Eudory Welty et. al.) than in the tradition of pop music. Great, great stuff.
For what it's worth, a glance at the national R&B charts from the '60s reveals all kinds of stuff that isn't remotely R&B--Neil Sedaka, the Beach Boys, the Kingston Trio, etc. There was lots of crossing over between charts then, and some songs were such big hits that everybody played them.
By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 09:06 pm: |
I must confess that I was so taken with the song that I studied a map of the area to get a feel for the geography indicated in it.
By MEL&THEN SOME9 (217.14.178.40) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 09:13 pm: |
Dont forget the
Detroit Emeralds cut it as the flip to
shades down on Ric-Tic(138)
regards
slim pickens
(yeeeee-hawwwwwwwwww)
okeh
mel in his rootintootin stetson.
By Larry (69.3.130.162) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 09:22 pm: |
MEL!!!
Nice one man!
By chance, were you in the band "Texas Mel and the Thensomes"?
By MEL&THEN SOME (217.14.178.40) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 09:38 pm: |
Larry,
Darn tootin'
yessiree-bob.
I raise ma'jug to ya Larry!
the flip was a lil'toon
featurin'
tex,mex and the Stetson-ettes.
dagnabbitt(hic,burp)
Thank-ee Larry.
Mel's 10 gallon head stuck
in his 10 gallon hat.
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:09 pm: |
According to Barry White's autobiography "Love Unlimited", Bobbie Gentry auditioned for Mustang/Bronco Records when Barry was the A&R chief and vice president. He wanted to sign her but his boss Bob Keene turned her down. Shortly after she went to Capitol Records and had her #1 Pop/#8 R&B hit with "Ode..", Mustang/Bronco went out of business.
When the movie "Ode To Billy Joe" was released, Bobbie re-recorded the song which note-for-note matched the original.
Now I'm itching to find my old 45!
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By STUBASS (205.188.209.109) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:13 pm: |
KEVGO: ARE WE TALKING THE SAME BOB KEENE OF RITCHIE VALENS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE...AND ...DEL-FI RECORDS???...STUBASS
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:23 pm: |
Stu:
Yes, the same Bob Keene of Del-Fi/Stereo-Fi/Donna/Mustang/Bronco/Keen Records fame.
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:25 pm: |
I thought Bobbie's was slighlty different the second time around-come to think of it wernt there 2 versions released the second time?-the movie version and the single again maybe.
By Eli (172.153.10.15) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:37 pm: |
Speaking of "country soul",
two of my faves are I cant make you love me by Bonnie Raitt and a hidden gem which I discovered called "My strongest weakness" by wynonna Judd which is definitely worth checking out for its sheer heartfelt honesty.
And of course I love "Crazy" and "I fall to pieces" by Patsy Cline and "Lady" by Kenny Rogers..
By Soul Sister (65.43.150.250) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:57 pm: |
Bobby; I'm with you on Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson has a few good jams too, he also wrote Crazy. Lady written by Lionel Ritchie is another gem.
Ray Charles I Can't Stop Loving You and what about Billy Vera & Judy Clay's Country song?
Sis
By stephanie (64.63.221.109) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 09:01 am: |
I always thought that Bobbie Gentry was as talented as Dolly Parton and Bobbie did some good sides with Glen Campbell. There is a site I found on the Internet 2 years ago and they were trying to get Bobbie Gentry to perform again and she didnt want to. She was a pretty lady I hope she graces us again..
Stephanie
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 11:10 am: |
The last time I saw Bobbie Gentry perform was in 1978 on Dick Clark's "Live Wednesday" TV show and she was with her husband Jim "Spiders & Snakes" Stafford. I don't recall the song but I remember she looked and sounded fine.
I agree with Stephanie - Bobbie's duets with Glen were great tunes (I have their album somewhere in the collection). It's a shame she doesn't perform today but she probably has her reasons whatever they may be.
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By Eli (172.162.110.209) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 11:58 am: |
For Jackie Moore's second album for CBS I recorded a medley of You needed me and I honestly love you.
Also Dorothy Moore's Misty Blue written by Joe Simon is Country Soul at its finest.
Mary J's version is a knockout too!!!!
By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 03:29 pm: |
Kev,
I don't have that Barry White book but have read it. I'm sure he inferred that Jim Ford, who we were discussing on the "Sly Stone recording for Motown" thread, was the real writer of the song.
I know Jim Ford's own album and "Ode To Billie
Joe" sure sounds to me like his style.
If you've got the time would you mind checking what Barry had to say about Jim Ford. I seem to
remember that Jim Ford offered to sell the song
outright to Bob Keene for some measly sum but
Keene wasn't interested in parting with any cash.
Davie
By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 03:32 pm: |
Country soul - how can we forget the wonderful Bettye Swann ? She worked wonders on country songs by Harlan Howard, Merle Haggard, Curly Putman and others. It's a tragedy there's so little of her work available on CD.
By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 03:34 pm: |
There was a big feature article on "Ode To Billie
Joe" in an issue of UK music magazine Mojo a few
months ago. Unfortunately I missed it but from
mentions I've seen it will be well worth reading.
By Ritchie (62.254.0.9) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 04:06 pm: |
You're talking about Country Soul and nobody's remembered Arthur Alexander?
By Mr Dot rpm (217.14.178.28) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 04:12 pm: |
thats because he is
keeping you guessing
boom boom
so show me the road
Mr Dot rpm
By Ritchie (62.254.0.9) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 04:20 pm: |
Mr Dot - You Better Move On -
(and maybe Get A Shot of Rhythm & Blues...?)
By ErikT.O. (64.228.108.108) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 05:38 pm: |
Dobie Gray, anyone? For mo' country soul, I thought I'd also mention Bobby Womack (BW Goes CW) and New Orleans artists like Allen Toussaint (Southern Nights) & Robert Parker (Country Side Of Life)...
By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Monday, June 02, 2003 - 06:58 pm: |
Im glad I started this thead-intersting! Eli-u worked with Jackie Moore?????????holy-!Is she performing?what a talent?Does anyone remember name of the one(only one Ive ever read about) black female country singer who recorded in the 70s?(I do)
By Garry J Cape (80.1.15.60) on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 03:46 am: |
Anybody who is able to relate to female countrysoul needs to listen to Kim Tolliver - Standing Room Only on Pathfinder from Memphis...the pathos makes it one of the top five of the genre of all time....
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 11:57 am: |
Davie:
Barry White mentioned Jim Ford in his book but he also mentioned that Bobbie Gentry sang "Ode To Billie Joe" at Mustang/Bronco offices. Jim was willing to part with the song (and have Bobbie signed) for whatever amount of money the label could offer but Bob Keene didn't think the song had any potential so it was rejected. No wonder Barry's brief time at Mustang/Bronco was frustrating as well as somewhat rewarding (check out the Del-Fi CD "Boss Soul - The Genius Of Barry White" for his Bronco productions).
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 03:45 pm: |
Kev, thanks for looking that up for me.
We all know Bobbie Gentry sang it but it's a bit ambiguous about who wrote it - if Bobbie had written it surely she would have been the one to offer the rights to the song to Bob Keene.
I doubt we'll ever know the full story but curiously enough Jim Ford's album credits give "special thanks" to "Jim Gentry" whoever
he is.
Incidentally Keene may have passed on "Ode To Billie Joe" but he did sign up Jim Ford as an artist - Ford had a single released on Mustang just before Mustang / Bronco closed down.
Davie
By Eli (151.197.219.220) on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 10:59 pm: |
Vandelron
Jackie and I have been friends from the Dear John days when she lived in Philly for a minute.
She was signed to Jimmy Bishop and Louise Williams who placed her with Shout/Bang.
When CBS signed her she requested my services and I happily obliged.
At the time she lost over 150 pounds as well.
We went to work immediately and recorded This Time Baby and the IM on my way LP with Atlantic Starr as the backing band as I was cutting them at the same time.
We went on to do two back to back CBS LPs as well various singles for Catawba.
I would love to record her again.
She also sang at my wifes funeral in 1989.
Jackie would be one helluva Country/Soul artist.
I know that she loves country songs.
Before I cut her she had a single release of the song "Personally" which should have been a smash.
When the other girl had a smash on it I cried as it should have been Jackie's record.
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 11:04 am: |
Eli:
Was the "other girl" who had the hit with Jackie's "Personally" named Karla Bonoff?
Karla later cut an album on Columbia that featured your old compadre Daryl Hall on background vocals.
I do agree with you regarding Jackie - I prefer her version of "Personally".
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By Eli (141.151.1.101) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 04:00 pm: |
Affirmative Kev. I had a "senior moment" so thanks for filling it in.
By Michael/cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 04:48 pm: |
Didn't Millie Jackson do a country album? I have never heard it but she used to joke about it in her show. Has anyone heard it? By the way, what is she doing? She did one of the funniest things I have ever seen in the Younger Man/Older Woman show that she toured a few years ago. I don't even know whether I could tell you what she did without being thrown off the forum. But if you saw the show, you know what I mean (she was in the shower on stage). LOL!!
By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 05:08 pm: |
Cleo/Michael:
Millie did record some country-soul tunes when she recorded for Spring Records.
Kevin Goins - KevGo
By Heikki (62.71.79.239) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 12:10 pm: |
Hi!
Millie released Just A Lil' Country in '81, which actually was recorded in Nashville.
Millie (for Soul Express): "We decided that we would have the biggest pop record we've ever had, for crossover. We had meetings and we got our marketing strategy together, and we had the right budget to support it.
Two weeks before the record was released, the president of Polygram left the company. We got lost, because the new president came in and we had to start all over again...
But I like the album. It's only that none of those things that were supposed to be done weren't done, because we got a new president."
Although Millie jokes about the album on her live recording and shows, there are some good tracks on it - reminding you of some of her greatest deliveries (although not up to the same intensity), such as Loving Arms,If You're Not Back In Love By Monday and Sweet Music Man. If you see it on sale, grab it.
Her latest, Not For Church Folk! (on her own Weird Wreckuds) is simply awful. A couple of decent ballads aside, Millie (in her present age) is trying to reach the hip-hop market, and you can guess what that sounds like.
Anyway, I've heard that Young Man, Older Woman (with sometimes Ray, Goodman & Brown providing some background) is a success and now it's out on video/DVD. I haven't seen it yet, but I'll make sure to get a copy, since Millie was one of my main ladies in the 70s.
Best regards
Heikki
By Flo Murdock (68.51.53.128) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 12:17 pm: |
Just for the record,Joe Simon didn't write Misty Blue. That was legendary country writer/producer Bob Montgomery. This is an interesting discussion, but I think it's maybe two or three different discussions in one.
By Eli (151.197.207.181) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 08:25 pm: |
My bad!!!
By Mark Speck (199.183.105.110) on Saturday, June 07, 2003 - 12:53 am: |
What about Big Al Downing? There's a guy who started out in rockabilly, moved over to soul/R&B and eventually into country where he garnered a couple of minor hits in the late '70s/early '80s.
Also, there's the late O.B. McClinton, who started out as a songwriter for Stax and Goldwax (he wrote "Keep Your Arms Around Me" for Otis Redding and "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure" for Clarence Carter) and later tried to compete with Charley Pride.
While O.B.'s music was no doubt more soulful than Charley's ever was, he sadly had no more than journeyman success with his country singles. He did nice country versions of William Bell's "My Whole World is Falling Down" and Wilson Pickett's "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You"--a truly underrated performer whose LPs are worth picking up if you see them.
Best,
Mark