Bobbie Gentry

Bobbie Gentry ( born July 27, 1944 as Roberta Streeter in Chickasaw County, Mississippi) is an American country music singer who became famous in 1967 by the hit Ode To Billie Joe.

Career

The Portuguese -born Roberta Streeter grew up in the southern state of Mississippi and moved at the age of thirteen to California. Here she attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and gained his first experiences at performances in the local club scene as a singer. She joined various theater groups and for a time worked as a dancer in Las Vegas. During these years, she adopted the name Bobbie Gentry (in reference to the film Ruby Gentry ).

In 1967, a record contract Bobbie Gentry from the Capitol label. Already their first single, with sparse guitar accompaniment in almost chant put forward Ode To Billie Joe, who described the circumstances of suicide, became a super hit. The song, which earned her three Grammys and numerous other awards, is held four weeks at the top of the pop charts and placed high in the country charts. The "Southern Belle " with the husky blues voice had ansatzlos made ​​a commercial breakthrough.

At this initial success, however, Bobbie Gentry did not match. Their next singles flopped without exception. Only in 1969 was recorded with Fancy a smaller hit. In the late 1960s, they brought along with Glen Campbell out some moderately successful singles and an excellent album with gold. After that, her career has focused on Europe, where her 1969 I'll Never Fall In Love Again scored a top hit. The early 1970s she had briefly own TV show. In 1976, Ode To Billie Joe again in the charts, as the song was filmed.

Discography ( albums)

Awards