The song "Ode to Billie Joe" was written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry, a
singer-songwriter from Chickasaw County, Mississippi. It became a number-
one hit in the U.S., and a big international seller. Billboard ranked the record
as the No. 3 song for 1967. The song is ranked #412 on Rolling Stone‘s list
of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It also generated eight Grammy
nominations, resulting in three wins for Gentry and one win for arranger
Jimmie Haskell.

Bobby Gentry in Capitol Studio C, Hollywood, CA.

Bobby Gentry (Roberta Lee Streeter) will be 72
on July 27.

The song "Peggy Sue" was written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Norman
Petty. It was originally called "Cindy Lou", named for Buddy’s niece, but was
later changed to "Peggy Sue" in reference to Crickets drummer Jerry Allison‘s
girlfriend (and future wife), Peggy Sue Gerron. The song went to #3 on the
Billboard Top 100 chart in 1957. It is currently ranked as the 106th greatest
song of all time, as well as the third best song of 1957, by Acclaimed Music.

Norman Petty in the Clovis recording studio control room.

The song “At the Hop” reached number one on the charts on January 6,
1958, thus becoming one of the top-selling singles of 1958. It also hit
number one on the R&B Best Sellers list. Somewhat more surprisingly,
the record reached #3 on the Music Vendor country charts.

The song “Jailhouse Rock” was recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood,
California and was released on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the
release of Presley’s motion picture,Jailhouse Rock. It is #67 on Rolling
Stone‘s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was named one
of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and
Roll. In 2004 , it finished at #21 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey
of top tunes in American cinema.

The Kingsmen, from left, Don Gallucci, Jack Ely, Lynn Easton,
Mike Mitchell and Bob Nordby.                           (Gino Rossi photo)

  
A rock group from Portland, Oregon, called The Kingsmen, recorded 
their cover of “Louie Louie” at Northwestern, Inc., Motion Pictures and
Recording in Portland. The session cost $50 and was done in one take.