In 1967, an enigmatic singer, songwriter and producer named Bobbie Gentry rose out of the Mississippi delta and enchanted audiences around the world with her beautiful, captivating voice and her “Ode To Billie Joe.” An unconventional, beguiling song with simple acoustic guitar and sparse production, and notably without a discernible chorus, the song introduced Gentry and her style of storytelling that was very different to the confessional song writing of other emerging female singers. The song caused a lot of commotion as it shot to number one in America and knocked The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” off the top spot. When the album Ode To Billie Joe was released the following month, it topped the charts and was the only record to displace Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from its 15-week reign. Over the next several years, Gentry, whose birthday was this past Friday, July 27, released seven studio albums and broke ground in numerous ways as one of the first female musicians to write, produce and even publish her own music. She also produced her elaborate stage shows via her own production company and was the first female singer songwriter to be afforded her own BBC TV series in the UK where she was wildly popular. She became one of the most iconic and influential artists of the 1960s and 70s, and then in the early ’80s she made her final appearance and disappeared from the public eye completely, never to return.
Capitol/UMe are proud to announce that on September 21, they will release the first major retrospective of this most groundbreaking artist with The Girl From Chickasaw County – The Complete Capitol Masters, an eight CD box set that includes all seven of Gentry’s studio albums sensitively remastered from the original tapes, supplemented by over 75 previously unreleased recordings including her ‘lost’ jazz album, outtakes, demos, rarities and an eighth disc of live performances taken from her celebrated series for the BBC. The release has specially commissioned cover art by David Downton and includes an 84-page book with a comprehensive essay by boxset compiler Andrew Batt, rare and unseen photos, eight postcards and a facsimile of her original handwritten lyrics for “Ode To Billie Joe.”
Gentry’s seven albums for Capitol Records featured some exceptional material. She was an artist who could turn her hand to fit country, folk, soul, pop, Americana, blues and jazz, and this box set brings all the magic together. Pick outs include the classic originals of “Ode To Billie Joe,” swamp funk mover “Mississippi Delta” (complete with an alternative version), classy Glen Campbell duet “Mornin’ Glory,” her definitive cover of “Hushabye Mountain,” pop-soul triumph “Fancy,” and from her final album, the melancholy “Lookin’ In.”
In addition, there are superb previously unreleased recordings including originals like “I Didn’t Know” and “Joanne” alongside essential covers of “Conspiracy Of Homer Jones,” “God Bless The Child,” and “Spinning Wheel.” Also included are intimate acoustic performances of “The Seventh Son,” “Feelin’ Good,” “Seasons Come, Seasons Go” and “Belinda.” For the rarities and obscurities fan, making their appearance on CD/digital for the first time are “La Siepe,” Bobbie’s Italian-language entry to the 1968 San Remo song festival, UK number one single “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” sung in Spanish, and a little-known duet with Kelly Gordon; “Love Took My Heart And Mashed That Sucker Flat.” Lastly there’s disc eight featuring live recordings from her BBC TV series, including an inspired pairing of “Niki-Hoeky with Barefootin’,” and dazzling takes of “Refractions,” “Ode To Billie Joe,” “He Made A Woman Out Of Me,” and an extended “Your Number One Fan.”
Gentry’s career blazed brightly for a few short years, but only now is the full extent of her artistry coming into focus. When we think of empowered female stars we think of Beyoncé, Madonna, or even Dolly Parton, but before all of them there came the girl from Chickasaw County. When she emerged in the late 60’s women were just starting to make their mark in the music industry, but female identity was polarized between the light entertainment star and the confessional singer-songwriter. Gentry developed her own unique persona, which was a hybrid of both; part creative songwriter, and part musical theatre performer. A storyteller at heart, Gentry created characters and situations that were often inspired by her Southern childhood, and the media and public alike were fascinated by the contrast between her glamorous appearance and the rural simplicity of her origins. Romanticized over time, these stories have coalesced into a classic version of the American dream; a rags-to-riches story that took Gentry from the Delta backwoods to the world’s most glittering stages.
Her disappearance intrigues us quite as much as what was thrown from the Tallahatchie Bridge: Why did she disappear? What has she been doing? Where is she now? But ‘Where is Bobbie Gentry?’ is not the question we should be asking: Gentry was a trailblazer who was years ahead of her time; a successful writer, singer, musician, performer, producer, publisher, and businesswoman. What we should really be asking ourselves is ‘Who was Bobbie Gentry?’ – The Girl From Chickasaw County provides more answers to that question than ever before, definitively re-appraising the musical legacy of this influential and iconic artist.
THE GIRL FROM CHICKASAW COUNTRY – THE COMPLETE CAPITOL MASTERS
DISC 1 – ODE TO BILLIE JOE
1. Mississippi Delta
2. I Saw an Angel Die
3. Chickasaw County Child
4. Sunday Best
5. Niki Hoeky
6. Papa, Woncha Let Me Go to Town With You?
7. Bugs
8. Hurry, Tuesday Child
9. Lazy Willie
10. Ode to Billie Joe
BONUS TRACKS
11. The Seventh Son [Demo]*
12. I Saw an Angel Die [Demo]*
13. Niki Hoeky [Demo]*
14. Papa, Woncha Let Me Go to Town With You? [Demo]*
15. Hurry, Tuesday Child [Demo]*
16. Mississippi Delta [Alternate version]*
17. Sunday Best [Alternate take]*
18. Show-Off [Stereo version]*
19. La Siepe [Original 7″]
20. La Citta E’ Grande [Original 7″]
DISC 2 – THE DELTA SWEETE
1. Okolona River Bottom Band
2. Big Boss Man
3. Reunion
4. Parchman Farm
5. Mornin’ Glory
6. Sermon
7. Tobacco Road
8. Penduli Pendulum
9. Jessye’ Lisabeth
10. Refractions
11. Louisiana Man
12. Courtyard
BONUS TRACKS
13. The Seventh Son [Band version]*
14. Feelin’ Good [Demo]*
15. I Didn’t Know [Demo]*
16. Morning to Midnight [Demo]*
17. Refractions [Demo]*
18. Louisiana Man [Demo]*
19. Sermon [Demo]*
20. Morning Glory [Demo]
21. Jessye’ Lisabeth [Demo]*
22. Courtyard [Demo]*
23. Louisiana Man [‘The Tom Jones Show’ 06/07/1968]*
24. Ode to Billie Joe [‘The Tom Jones Show’ 06/07/1968]*
DISC 3 – LOCAL GENTRY
1. Sweete Peony
2. Casket Vignette
3. Come Away Melinda
4. The Fool on the Hill
5. Papa’s Medicine Show
6. Ace Insurance Man
7. Recollection
8. Sittin’ Pretty
9. Eleanor Rigby
10. Peaceful
11. Here, There and Everywhere
BONUS TRACKS
12. Hushabye Mountain [Original 7″]
13. Skip A Long Sam [Ode to Bobbie Gentry]
14. Conspiracy of Homer Jones*
15. Sweet Peony [Alternate Version]*
16. Cotton Candy Sandman [Demo] *
17. Hushabye Mountain [Demo]*
DISC 4 – BOBBIE GENTRY & GLEN CAMPBELL
1. Less of Me
2. Little Green Apples
3. Gentle on My Mind
4. Heart to Heart Talk
5. My Elusive Dreams
6. (It’s Only Your) Imagination
7. Mornin’ Glory
8. Terrible Tangled Web
9. Sunday Mornin’
10. Let It Be Me
11. Scarborough Fair/Canticle
BONUS TRACKS
12. All I Have to Do Is Dream [Original 7″]
13. Walk Right Back [Original 7″]
14. Sunday Mornin’ [Alternate version]*
15. Let It Be Me [Without strings]*
16. Scarborough Fair/Canticle [without strings]*
17. Love Took My Heart and Mashed That Sucker Flat [Duet with Kelly Gordon] [Defunked, 1969]
18. Fool on the Hill [Japanese language version] [Original 7″]
19. No me quiero enamorar [Spanish Language ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’] [Original 7″]
20. En Todas Partes [Spanish Language ‘Here There and Everywhere’] [Original 7″]
DISC 5 – TOUCH ‘EM WITH LOVE
1. Touch ‘Em with Love
2. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere
3. Natural to Be Gone
4. Seasons Come, Seasons Go
5. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing
6. I Wouldn’t Be Surprised
7. Son of a Preacher Man
8. Where’s the Playground, Johnny
9. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
10. You’ve Made Me So Very Happy
Bonus Tracks
11. More Today Than Yesterday*
12. Spinning Wheel*
13. Touch ‘Em with Love [Stereo version]*
14. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing [Alternate take]*
15. Seasons Come, Seasons Go [Demo]*
16. Suppertime*
17. God Bless The Child*
18. Since I Fell For You*
19. Save Your Love For Me*
20. Here’s That Rainy Day*
21. Stormy [Ode To Bobbie Gentry]
22. This Girls In Love With You
23. Windows of the World [The Best of Bobbie Gentry: The Capitol Years]
DISC 6 – FANCY
1. Fancy
2. Delta Man
3. Something in the Way He Moves
4. Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em and Forget About ‘Em
5. He Made a Woman Out of Me
6. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
7. If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
8. Rainmaker
9. Wedding Bell Blues
BONUS TRACKS
10. In the Ghetto [I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (UK)]
11. Fancy [Mono radio edit]*
12. Apartment 21 [Original 7″]
13. Away In A Manger [The Christmas Sound of Music, 1969]
14. Scarlett Ribbons [The Christmas Sound of Music, 1969]
15. Circle ‘Round the Sun*
16. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head [Alternate take]*
17. Wedding Bell Blues [Alternate take]*
18. Apartment 21 [Without strings]*
19. Scarlett Ribbons [Alternate version]*
20. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody [Live on ‘Top Of The Pops’]
DISC 7 – PATCHWORK
1. Benjamin
2. Interlude 1
3. Marigolds and Tangerines
4. Interlude 2
5. Billy the Kid
6. Interlude 3
7. Beverly
8. Interlude 4
9. Miss Clara/Azusa Sue
10. Interlude 5
11. But I Can’t Get Back
12. Jeremiah
13. Interlude 6
14. Belinda
15. Mean Stepmama Blues
16. Your Number One Fan
17. Interlude 7
18. Somebody Like Me
19. Lookin’ In
BONUS TRACKS
20. Smoke [The Best Of The Capital Years, 2007]
21. Joanne*
22. Salome Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear*
23. Benjamin [Alternate take]*
24. Belinda [Alternate version]*
25. Smoke (Demo)*
26. The Girl from Cincinnati [Original 7″]
27. You and Me Together [Original 7″]
DISC 8 – LIVE AT THE BBC
1. Mississippi Delta [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
2. Papa Won’t You Let Me Go To Town With You [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
3. I Saw An Angel Die [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
4. My Dog Sargent [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*1.15
5. Ode to Billie Joe [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
6. Mornin’ Glory [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*3.15
7. Sunday Best [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*
8. Hurry Tuesday Child [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*
9. Nikki Hokey / Barefootin’ [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
10. Penduli Pendulum [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
11. Ace Insurance Man [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
12. Chickasaw County Child [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
13. Recollection [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
14. Sweet Peony [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
15. Refractions [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
16. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
17. Cotton Candy Sandman [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
18. Open Your Window [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
19. Mother Nature’s son [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
20. Mr. Bojangles [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
21. Your Number One Fan [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
22. He Made A Woman Out of Me [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
23. Billy the Kid [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
24. Wailing Of The Willow [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
25. Belinda [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
26. Circle ‘Round The Sun [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
*Previously unreleased
