Though her birth name was Roberta Lee Streeter, she was known around the world as Bobbie Gentry. Born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, and raised in the town of Greenwood, Gentry is most known for ...

That is the opening line of one of music’s most discussed, examined and appreciated songs — “Ode to Billie Joe,” written and performed by Bobbie Gentry, who was born in Mississippi’s Chickasaw County.

Editor's Note: The following column by former Clarion Ledger columnist Billy Watkins originally appeared in the May 31, 2016, edition of the Clarion-Ledger. Music fans know the importance of Friday.

It was not the third of June, nor was it another sleepy, dusty, Delta day. It was on another muggy July evening in St. Tammany Parish when my buddies and I first heard Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie ...

Born Roberta Lee Streeter in 1942, Chickasaw County, Mississippi, Bobbie Gentry never harbored any singing aspirations. Although she would make history as one of the first female artists in the U.S.

Country cultists will remember that Bobbie Gentry is the sultry Mississippi-born singer of story songs like “Ode To Billie Joe” and “Fancy,” a woman of great curves and fabulous notes, even when ...

JACKSON, Miss. — If I haven’t responded to your email following the “What happened to singer Bobbie Gentry?” column on June 1, consider this a personal apology and a “thank you” for each one. I have ...

Editor's note: This article originally appeared online May 31, 2016, in the (Jackson, Mississippi) Clarion Ledger. Music fans know the importance of Friday. “It was the 3rd of June, another sleepy, ...