Classic pop songs of all time - Number 162

I didn't buy this when it came out and it wasn't really 'til much later we really HEARD it over here but this is what country and pop combined to make story songs that beat any other genre IMHO. Great song, great singer, if a tad one of the one hit wonders over here in the UK

On this day in music history: August 26, 1967 - “Ode To Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks, also peaking at #8 on the R&B singles chart on October 21, 1967. Written by Bobbie Gentry, it is the biggest hit for the Mississippi born singer, songwriter and musician born Roberta Lee Streeter. The cryptic story song about a young man committing suicide for unknown reasons, is an immediate smash. Recorded at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood, CA in Studio C on July 10, 1967, the track is completed in less than an hour of studio time. Arranger Jimmie Haskell adds the songs crowning touch by overdubbing violins and cellos to the spare arrangement. The unedited version runs over seven minutes and it pared down to just over four minutes. Originally issued as the B-side to her debut single “Mississippi Delta”, DJ’s very quickly favor the flip side. Entering the Hot 100 at #71 on August 5, 1967 it rockets to the top of the chart just three weeks later. The song also propels Gentry’s album (also titled “Ode To Billie Joe”) to number one for five weeks (unseating The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”), and winning her two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1968. In 1976, “Billie Joe” inspires a feature film titled “Ode To Billy Joe” based on the songs story line starring Robby Benson in the title role and is produced and directed by Max Baer, Jr. (“The Beverly Hillbillies”). The song is also widely covered by numerous artists including Howard Roberts, Cal Tjader, Tammy Wynette, Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald, Lou Donaldson, Lorrie Morgan, and Sinead O'Connor among them. As Bobby Gentry’s original version is on the R&B singles chart, it is surpassed by a competing instrumental version by King Curtis, which peaks at #6 on October 28, 1967. “Ode To Billie Joe” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA, and is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1999.


Thanks to Jeff Harris' wonderful blog Behind the Grooves