I was asked to listen to Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe | First Reaction!! 

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I was singing along with her. I'm 70 and still to this day , it's one of my favorites. It's so haunting and her story and voice makes this perfection.💋‼️

I am a middle aged black woman. I played this song on a 45. I think this song & Harper Valley PTA were the first country songs that I learned the words to.

Bobby Gentry is the first American woman to write, produce, and sing her own music. She also wrote, produced and sang "Fancy". Reba McEntire also had a hit with Fancy.

Bobbie Gentey said the song was about casual cruelty that they could talk about someone taking their own life while talking about the mundane facts of life with little emotional impact. As others have mentioned this was also a Southern Gothic song. I like your comparison of it to a clean version of a Black blues song. I love how in the lyrics she captures the dialogue and cadence of southern life in such a way that you feel as if you were actually there as this tragedy unfolded.

Bobby Gentry is 81 years old now . Great song .

She's definitely a storyteller. Some singers are so good at this. This one is atmospheric. You can feel the vibes of a family living in a small town.

Bobbie Gentry wrote it. She wrote Son of a Preacher Man. She wrote Fancy, which Reba covered.

The country music isn’t really country. This is what country music was all about. It tells a story.

I really don't think you understand whose company you were just in. That was not just a singer, songwriter, musician, classy dresser, performer... She is a teacher. She is a true artistic mind. She is a philosopher. She's a woman. An unusual woman that overcame and never stopped. Not because of greed and drive for power and money. She is a teacher. When she performs that song, you are in her kitchen breaking bread with her family around the table. You understood. You understood a powerful message and moral. So powerful that you became immediately lost in it. And you literally took something away from it. Something that you will never forget. ✌🏼❤️🙏🏼😎

When a singer can make you see what she’s singing, that’s true talent. Always loved this song. They actually made a movie from the song.

I'm old enough to remember when this song was a hit. Even as a child, this song gave me the chills.

Bobbie Gentry was very young and this song gives me shivers. This and Son of a Preacher Man are wonderful songs.

One of the most atmospheric songs ever written or performed. You can almost feel the heat and humidity of the delta summer. And of course, the lyrics about the casualness of the family talking about the death and their obliviousness to the pain of the daughter who's telling the story. The haunting way she plays the guitar. A one-of-a-kind classic.

I'm 76 years old. When I was younger I loved this song. Her voice is fantastic. The music and song still give me goosebumps. Thanks for playing it. Everyone of the songs she wrote were fantastic. There was not a single one that bombed. Very talented.

I read that she never intended for people to get caught up in what they threw off the bridge. The song is about “casual cruelty,” her family’s indifference to her relationship with Billy Joe, clueless about the fact that she has no appetite, but just going on talking about mundane things.

A renaissance woman if ever there was one. Writer, poet, singer/ songwriter, producer, fashionista, trendsetter. She made fat stacks in music, invested it and became a multi-millionaire. What a woman ❤

Bobbie Gentry was the first American female who wrote and sang her owns songs while playing the musical instrument.

People are still discussing the meaning and events of this song almost 60 years later.

People forget ...she wrote Fancy too, and sang it beautifully

She was just amazing! She went on to a get PhD in philosophy

She wrote, arranged and produced her recording of this song and others. This is an original song...

It was a story that actually happened in her neck of the woods. She never revealed much more. But song was muched talked about. She was good relaying it in song She lived in same area not far from where Elvis was born and raised They were great friends.

I never tire of this song. Haunting and so beautifully performed.

Singer, songwriter, producer, performer.....and she ain't hard to look at either. 😊❤

Bobby Gentry is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose & produce her own material. A lot of her songs were stories. Her biggest hit was in 1967 with "Ode To Billy Joe". Other hits she wrote & recorded were "Mississippi Delta" & "Fancy". She also had hits with "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Sunday Mornin" (with Glen Campbell) etc.

My father was a tv news anchor & reporter, we got to see Bobbie Gentry from backstage. We were also backstage when she brought Glenn Campbell out for an introduction performance. It was a great show. She was a very sweet woman...❤❤

This is live. No auto tune. Just Talent. That is missing in 2024. There is a treasure chest full of classic music . 60s, 70s,80s. 🎶🌎✨️

A song you do not forget.

I loved this song as far back as I remember.

I think of this every time we go to the Delta and cross over the Tallahatchie bridge….👍👍

It's been giving me goosebumps for decades

Bobbie Gentry just dropped off the grid a few years after this massive song. Many people have wondered why? Apparently it was all by choice. She wrote a few hits for other artists and quietly departed. What a great song she left us.

This song always transported me to where she was singing about, when I was a kid. I can taste the corn bread and beans!!

I was born in 69, and I remember hearing this song for the first time when I was about 5. The music of my childhood was Motown and Janis Joplin, but I when I heard this, it opened me up to another world of music altogether. It felt... sacred? I soon after found a Mississippi Blues collection on vinyl at the thrift store and would lay on the floor, head between the stereo speakers, being transported. Charlie Booker, Honeyboy Edwards, Elmore James... she's definitely in that lineage, I think. Beautiful. Thanks for the memories.

I remember Bobby Gentry very well. She was a unique singer and personality. A beautiful young woman who was a brave rebel with a cause in her day as a musician. ♥️

63 y/o here. I sang every word of the song with Bobby. Thank you for taking me back in time.

What was thrown off the bridge she has always been mysterious about and has never revealed it. I would recommend the movie, starring Robby Benson. It goes in a direction you'd never expect in the 70's.

Im 59, been hearing it for as long as i remember. Hits harder the older i get. Yes she is beautiful.

Thanks for your reaction. Back in the 60's we women understood the song to be about an illegitimate baby and the young couple's secret relationship ending in tragedy. Perhaps others interpret it differently, that's just what we thought at the time.

This song was written and sung by the beautiful and talented Bobbie Gentry.Later a screen play was written for a movie, by the same name, based on the song.

I'm 68 years old. I love this song; it brings back a lot of Summer memories. Chills, for sure.

As a kid back in 1967 (I'm 68 now) I remember this was not only getting airplay on the country western radio stations, but also on the soft Rock and Pop stations as well. It really took off, after her appearance on The Ed Sullivan Variety Show (every Sunday night from 8pm to 9pm). The story of the song was as intriguing as the music. Was it a suicide, murder, or what exactly happened on the Bridge? Everyone was talking about it at school on Monday morning, after she sang this on Ed Sullivan, the night before. Life was different in the 1960s, and TV especially. There were only the three Network channels to watch in the whole country. No cable, or satellite, just ABC,NBC, and CBS. So everyone usually watched, what everyone else watched. I kind of miss those days of my childhood.

I remember this song, 1967.

I remember this from my childhood and of course was the age to make fun of eyelashes that are now back and loved your comments about her dress...demeanor...and presence. Love seeing this video too with older eyes.

They made a movie about this song called "Ode to Billie Joe" starring Robbie Benson and Glynnis O'Connor. Great movie.

She was also a swimsuit model as she was performing in the 1960's in L.A. before she got her record deal. Intelligent, beauty, and a killer body! Around 1981/1982 she went into hiding, and has performed or has been seen much. I believe she has a son, and did see a photo of her from maybe 20 years ago, and she looked very classy!!

Probably the most under-rated song of all time. What a master piece of excellence.

Polo you need to listen to this song again and again. There is a very deep and disturbing mystery.

“Ode to Billie Joe” is a hauntingly beautiful song written by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry. It was released by Capitol Records in July 1967. The song tells the story of a family living in a rural town in Mississippi and revolves around the mysterious suicide of a young man named Billie Joe MacAllister. The song’s narrative is performed over sparse acoustic guitar accompaniment with strings in the background. It leaves its audience intrigued as to what the narrator and Billie Joe threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Gentry later clarified that she intended the song to portray the family’s indifference to the suicide in what she deemed “a study in unconscious cruelty,” while she remarked that the object thrown was not relevant to the message. The song received widespread attention and has been recognized as one of the greatest songs of all time1. In 2023, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry1. 🎶🌟

If this gave you chills, consider Alison Krauss performing “Jacob’s Dream”. It will make your blood run cold.

Very cool song...see we listened to this, Led Zep, Kool and the Gang...ALL of it! Good times...☮️

I remember when this song came out, it got folks attention. I'm 72, a boomer and this was great music!

As a Rocker, I had the utmost respect for this woman & Loved this beautiful story.❤😊

She and Glen Campbell did an entire album of duets that is fabulous.

Bobbie Gentry wrote and produced this song.

I was waiting for you to get to this track which I knew would happen. You will never tire of this song it only gets better. It's just that good. Stripped down to only what was needed leaving nothing but meat. So Simple it ends up being complex.

With this classic song, Bobbie Gentry became the first white woman to have a self penned top ten r&b hit. It charted #1 pop(4 weeks ). #5 adult contemporary, #17 country and #8 r&b. To date 260 covers and adaptations and 50 million in sales. Later in 1967, King Curtis and the Kingpins took their instrumental of this song to #26 pop and #6 r&b. Out of the 260 covers, two thirds are by r&b and jazz artists. Check out her other Southern Gothic Classic song, Fancy,( Whitney Houston's mom Cissy Houston is the backup singer) and check out master jazz pianist, Bill Evans, instrumental cover of her song Mornin' Glory. Bobbie Gentry's influences included Billie Holiday and she was most comfortable labeling herself as a blues singer.

She wrote this song. I guess living in Mississippi gives many songwriters plenty of stories to tell. Blues is one of my favorite genres

The cello is so haunting . . . . just grabs you.

I was about 6 years old when this song came out. I listened to it over and over again.

such a haunting classic! ♥

The original Preacer's son from Dusty Springfield will groove you more than any song with preacher in it should!

The people that know and love Bobby Gentry are in FACT my favorite people. ✌️💕

I also love how well she captured the southern vernacular in the dialog of the characters.

Still gives me chills and makes me cry.

What a story teller! Discussing horror story material while eating a wholesome meal. Not my first listening but she draws me in every time.

This is such a classic blues song that propelled Bobby Gentry as a household figure of Americana.

This is a timeless song that captures the Mississippi I knew. It speaks to any young woman anywhere though, and to a lot of the rest of the world too. People always tried to guess what was thrown off the bridge: a ring, a baby, a body? As she said, it's not important that she provide that answer for us. Other great talents of the same time were Janis Ian, Lulu and Joan Baez. Each had a unique voice and a story to tell, but all of the songs seemed to come from their souls.

One of those songs that have stood the test of time. Just as great today as the first time I heard it.

Still makes me cry, since I was a little girl I’m 61 years old now, and this Song Hits its mark❤

I'm 78,singing every word with her

It’s storytelling set to music. If it’s good, you can visualize the story as it unfolds. If it’s powerful, you become a part of the story, watching it beside the singer. Bobby Gentry was an amazing storyteller. Every word precisely painted the canvas of an unforgettable bridge and 2 kids with a haunting secret.

I just googled her. She’s still really beautiful.

Personally, I've always thought it was a wedding ring... that Billie Joe was proposing and she jokingly turned him down and threw the ring in the river, to both their dismay. Love this song!

I had forgotten just how good that song is. Just great.

This song never fails to give me chills. Another southern gothic classic from this general era (this was from the late 1960s, perhaps 1967 or so) was the song "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" (circa 1973) by Vicki Lawrence (who was mostly famous from her TV role on the Carol Burnett Show and its spinoff "Mama's House"). You'll want to find a lyric video, as that one has some plot twists that usually take a few listens to "get" the story... the lyrics are easy to understand, but i think a lyric video might help you follow.😮

It’s a masterpiece ❤

Love Bobbie gentry. I remember when the song came out. Everybody I knew was singing it. Glad you liked it.❤ Great show as usual❤

I hadn't heard this since it was released and when I was in high school. Thank you for your reaction. I experienced a new appreciation for this classic.

Grew up listening to these great tunes

I loved this song growing up. I’m 73 and enjoyed some great artist, groups and songs fabulous orchestration. The 70’s was a great time in music.

I grew up when music was music Great songs by great artists

I love how, at the end of the song, the violin(s) play a run that gives the impression of falling.

growing up in the old south i miss her accent..its the one my aunts and grandmother had. it was beautiful and soothing..it was hot summer evenings on the porch and sunday church .

Yep, Bobby Gentry was some kind of amazing for sure. Among everything already mentioned, I believe she was also the first woman to write her own music, lyrics, and produce her own music as well. Witch was a hell of a thing in that era.

Her style attractiveness and delivery outstanding!

The song is haunting. It can make you stop what you were doing and drift into this odd musical story. When it's over, there is no sense of comfort or even satisfaction, just the realization you've been standing in one place for several minutes looking at a spot on the wall. " Mabey, if I play it one more time...

Beautiful. brilliant and most talented performer. She was in complete control of the writing, performing and production of this song.

Story tellers are always the best artist. Telling your own story you are singing from the heart. *****5 STARS*****

Beautiful song! Great delivery by Bobby Gentry.

Bobbie Gentry was one of the few female singer/songwriters of that era who self produced their records. Joni Mitchell, too.

This is the best in Americana Storytelling back then. I grew up listening to this type of music and it’s taught me to respect many types of music. This is the best early music almost like you’d find in early Appalachians. Dolly, Reba….you get it

This was the #1 song of the year when I graduated high school.

Such an atmospheric song and performance. She was very special.

Never heard this song before, what an absolute masterpiece! Checking out more of this phenomenal woman right now.

I have full body chills listening to her sing this.

This is Southern Gothic. Country music and folk have always told stories, and the content falls into the same categories as other media.

She wrote the song. All these years later, we still wonder: what did they throw off that bridge.

Gosh, it's a very long time since I've heard this. Found I could remember every single word. really enjoyed that trip down memory lane. Wonderful song and wonderful voice.