Whatever Happened to Bobbie Gentry?

I listened to a documentary about Bobbie Gentry on Radio 2 this evening presented by Roseanne Cash. I've always had a soft spot for Bobbie with her deep, soulful voice and play her 'best of' every now and then. I bought it years ago and it was virtually the only album of her songs I could find at the time- I've found out tonight that over the past few years all of her albums have been re-issued so I have lots more music to explore.

Bobbie shot to fame with 'Ode To Billie Joe' in 1967 and had another three to four years of success before falling out of favour, popping up on TV now and then until her last appearance in 1981 and vanishing from sight. I can only vaguely recall Bobbie's TV series for the BBC in the early 70s which was the usual fare of song-comedy routine-guest-song, just like Cilla and Lulu's series. The format was the same - and some of the songs - but it was the voice that was different and Bobbie's was very different and special.

The documentary was a fascinating reminder of Bobbie's talent and it was great to hear snatches of songs that I've never heard before. If you get a chance you should listen to it on iPlayer. In the menatime, I'll be exploring her albums on download.