She made just one song that became a big hit, 1967's Ode To Billie Joe. The song ousted the Beatles in America from first place, scored three Grammys, and her eponymous album proved so strong that Sgt. Peppers had to give up first place.

Congratulations, as “Ode to Billie Joe” has now joined the Library of Congress's National Recording Register Ode was named as one of the 25 recordings considered to be sound treasures that are always worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the country's recorded sound heritage.

More than 1,100 public nominations were received and this year participants included a pleasingly high number of female performers including Madonna, Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, Annie Lenox, Jackie DeShannon and the late Irene Cara.

Singer Bobby Gentry proved to be an extraordinary artist in several ways in the late '60s/early '70s, followed by many female contemporaries. And then, suddenly, she disappears from the radar. To this day, it is not known where Bobby Gentry went

The riddle solved? But what about Gentry herself, why did she disappear and, above all, where is she? Guuz Hoogaerts explains how a journalist from The Washington Post tried to track her down and he ended up in Savannah. There, not far from the Tallahatchie Bridge where Billy Joe Macallsiter jumped off, Gentry would live in a neighborhood closed by a fence. The journalist did not go beyond that fence. But Guuz read an interview with Andrew Batt, the man who put together the CD box. He was asked if Bobby Gentry was aware of the box, to which Batt replied affirmatively. “But,” he added, “she remains committed to her privacy.“For example, we still don't know where she is, but at least we do know that she's still alive. Source: NPO Radio 1

Loading full article...