Bobbie Gentry (Roberta Lee Streeter) was
born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
Gentry’s big hit , "Ode to Billie Joe" in 1967, charted at #1 for multiple weeks
on the Billboard Hot 100. She paid for her education at UCLA by working
clerical jobs. Her first single was "Mississippi Delta," which she released
in 1967.Bobby Gentry is known to be one of the first female country
artists to compose and produce her own material.
Bobbie Gentry has two songs in the new Rolling Stone top 100 country songs list.Ode to Billie Joe comes in at# 47 and her other great story song, Fancy at #81. Both songs have many covers and O.T.B.J has over 50 million in record sales and Fancy over 20 million.