Sunday, June 05, 2016

Whatever happened to Bobbie Gentry?

Whatever happened to Bobbie Gentry? In search of country music’s great vanished star. 

10 comments:

Don Coffin said...

And what did Billie Joe throw off that bridge? I've got a guess, but does anyone KNOW?

Unknown said...

Maybe it was revealed in the movie.

Rick Robinson said...

Great? I sure didn't / don't think she was great.

Jeff Meyerson said...

The movie was just stupid.

Love the song.

Deb said...

I thought she and Stafford had at least one child together, but the article doesn't mention any children so perhaps not.

Anyway, at least she has enough money to live in a big house and not have to spend every night singing "Ode to Billie Joe" at the Bobbie Gentry theater in Branson.

Jeff Meyerson said...

Questions arose among the listeners: what did Billie Joe and his girlfriend throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge, and why did Billie Joe commit suicide? Speculation ran rampant after the song hit the airwaves, and Gentry said in a November 1967 interview that it was the question most asked of her by everyone she met. She named flowers, an engagement ring, a draft card, a bottle of LSD pills, and an aborted baby as the most often guessed items. Although she knew definitely what the item was, she would not reveal it, saying only "Suppose it was a wedding ring." "It's in there for two reasons," she said. "First, it locks up a definite relationship between Billie Joe and the girl telling the story, the girl at the table. Second, the fact that Billie Joe was seen throwing something off the bridge – no matter what it was – provides a possible motivation as to why he jumped off the bridge the next day."

But then, (WARNING)In Raucher's novel and screenplay, Billy Joe kills himself after a drunken homosexual experience, and the object thrown from the bridge is the narrator's ragdoll. (END WARNING)

I told you it was stupid.

Unknown said...

I'm glad I didn't see the movie.

Cap'n Bob said...

As if the movie wasn't bad enough, it starred Robbie Benson, my candidate for worst actor ever.

Unknown said...

That's the main reason I avoided it. But there were plenty of others.

Cap'n Bob said...

One small fact: When this song came out I was in Nam and we used to sing "dusty Mekong Delta day."