“I fell in love with Bobbie Gentry when I was five years old, and I’ve been looking for her ever since.”
From the “Ode To Billie Joe” album sleevenotes

I’ve always had a major preference for brunettes, from youthful lusting after Raquel Welch to my beautiful wife, and I think it may have all started with Bobbie Gentry. Somewhere in the back of my mind are vague memories of her (probably from the BBCTV show she had in the late 60s) that I think are at the heart of my love of raven-haired women in a way that I can’t quite put my finger on. I can easily see how I could have been in love with her as a boy, she was like an exotic version of those home-grown girls Dusty, Cilla, Petula, and Sandie, a foxy bombshell with a big bouffant of lustrous dark hair who looked like a cross between a Southern beauty queen, an astronaut’s wife, and the impossibly glamourous mother of the kid next door. Even the name “Bobbie Gentry” evokes something wonderful, it’s somehow both sexual and soothing at the same time, like corduroy and rhinestones, lust and apple pie, honey and bourbon.

But while I was having childhood fantasies of being tucked up in bed by her, Bobbie was making wonderful records. When I later bought a few of them on vinyl (partly on a nostalgic whim but also because of sleeves like the above. I mean, how could you not buy that?) I was pleased to discover that behind the big hair and va-va-voom red pantsuit was an incredibly talented woman who wrote gorgeous, baroque pop songs that mixed country, folk and soul which she sang in a husky, seductive voice. The closest equivalent sound I can think of is “Dusty In Memphis” with the difference that Bobbie wrote and produced most of it herself. She should be thought of as one of the great female singer-songwriters and maybe if she’d been as ugly as Janis Joplin she’d have gotten more respect and recognition, but none of the five albums after her 1967 debut “Ode To Billie Joe” sold that well and she ended up doing Vegas and a variety show on British telly.

But don’t take my word for it, here’s a little pick ‘n’ mix of some Gentry tunes I especially love. With the exception of the funky “Mississippi Delta” they’re on the soft and ornate side, just try listening to “Mornin’ Glory” without melting into a pool of mush.

[Download]
Mornin’ Glory – Bobbie Gentry
Mississippi Delta – Bobbie Gentry
Seasons Come, Seasons Go – Bobbie Gentry
Casket Vignette – Bobbie Gentry

This is a great clip of her singing her biggest hit “Ode To Bille Joe” which sounds even better than the recorded version. Lots more Bobbie goodness at YouTube including duets with Johnny Cash and Donovan.

Bobbie pulled a Howard Hughes in the late 70s and vanished from public view. She hasn’t been seen since and fell so far below the radar her albums weren’t even in print for many years. Some of them are now available on two-fer CDs and there are a few compilations including this new one put together by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne. Though I think “Chickasaw County Child: The Artistry of Bobbie Gentry” is the one to get.

Wherever Bobbie is now I hope she still has that red pantsuit. I like to think of her wearing it while she’s in the kitchen baking me an apple pie.