Bobbie Gentry was born on Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27,1942 and is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material.
35 Facts About Bobbie Gentry
2.
Bobbie Gentry charted 11 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four singles on the United Kingdom Top 40.
3.
Bobbie Gentry was born Roberta Lee Streeter on July 27,1942, near Woodland in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, to Ruby Lee and Robert Harrison Streeter.
4.
At age 13, Bobbie Gentry moved to Palm Springs, California, to live with her then-remarried mother.
5.
Bobbie Gentry took her stage name from the 1952 film Ruby Bobbie Gentry, which she had seen on television.
6.
Bobbie Gentry supported herself with clerical jobs, occasionally performing at nightclubs and country clubs, and when she appeared in a revue at Les Folies Bergeres nightclub in Las Vegas, Bob Hope encouraged her to keep performing.
7.
Bobbie Gentry worked as a fashion model, and on June 29,1962, United Press International circulated a wire photo of Gentry that included Cheryl Crane, daughter of Lana Turner.
8.
Bobbie Gentry transferred to the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, where she took classes in composition, music theory and arranging.
9.
Bobbie Gentry recorded a demo at Whitney Recording Studio in Glendale, California, in February and March 1967.
10.
Bobbie Gentry signed with Capitol Records on June 23,1967, where staff producer Kelly Gordon would produce Ode to Billie Joe as his first full-length album for the label.
11.
Bobbie Gentry won three Grammy Awards in 1967, including Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
12.
Bobbie Gentry was named the Academy of Country Music's Most Promising Female Vocalist.
13.
In February 1968, Bobbie Gentry took part in the Italian Song Festival in Sanremo competition, as one of two performers of "La Siepe" by Vito Pallavicini and Massara.
14.
Bobbie Gentry produced a second series of shows for BBC2 in 1969, which aired weekly from June 18 to July 23.
15.
Bobbie Gentry's cover of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" was released as the second single in the UK, where it became a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart.
16.
In 1969, Bobbie Gentry taped four television specials for Canadian television station CFTO-TV Toronto for North American syndication.
17.
Bobbie Gentry would be nominated for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards.
18.
In early 1971, Bobbie Gentry produced a third and final series of shows for BBC 2, consisting of six weekly episodes.
19.
Around the time Patchwork was released, the entire executive board that had been at Capitol throughout Bobbie Gentry's career was fired.
20.
Since Bobbie Gentry was unwilling to release an album with Capitol on the terms offered, she found herself unable to release an album on another label, meaning she was left with no choice but to wait out the remaining option period of her contract.
21.
In 1975, Bobbie Gentry wrote and performed "Another Place, Another Time" for writer-director Max Baer, Jr.
22.
In 1976, Baer directed the feature film Ode to Billy Joe, based on Bobbie Gentry's hit song and starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor.
23.
Records released a soundtrack of the score by Michel Legrand, including a re-recorded version of "Ode to Billie Joe", re-titled "Ode to Billy Joe" to match the film's title, with Bobbie Gentry stating that the original spelling was an error.
24.
In 1977 Bobbie Gentry reunited with producer Rick Hall in Muscle Shoals to record an album for the Curb Records division of Warner Bros.
25.
Bobbie Gentry appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Christmas Day 1978.
26.
Bobbie Gentry attended the Best of Vegas Awards on March 21,1980.
27.
On May 10,1981, Bobbie Gentry was one of many celebrity guests to take part in An All-Star Salute to Mother's Day.
28.
The last time Bobbie Gentry appeared in public was when she attended the Academy of Country Music Awards on April 30,1982.
29.
Bobbie Gentry married casino magnate Bill Harrah on December 18,1969, when he was 58 years old and she was 27.
30.
Bobbie Gentry married Thomas R Toutant on August 17,1976, whom she divorced on August 1,1978.
31.
On October 15,1978, Bobbie Gentry married singer and comedian Jim Stafford with whom she had a son, Tyler Bobbie Gentry Stafford.
32.
Bobbie Gentry had partial ownership of the Phoenix Suns NBA team from the team's inception in 1968 until 1987.
33.
Bobbie Gentry charted 11 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four singles in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
34.
Beth Orton recorded a song titled "Bobby Bobbie Gentry" featured on her The Other Side of Daybreak album.
35.
In 2011, producer and singer Joe Henry said Bobbie Gentry's writing influenced him early in his life.