Remember Ode to Billie Joe, that mysterious song about a boy jumping off a bridge?
Written and performed by the hitherto unknown Bobbie Gentry, it was a huge international hit in 1967 and sticks in the memory of anyone who heard it back then (it was never off the radio) or since (people still argue about what the lyric really meant).
Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash traces Gentry’s career, a rocketing rise to fame, Las Vegas headliner at the same time as Elvis and Tom Jones, and then her withdrawal from both the music scene and public life.
Producer Henry Lopez-Real has gone to some pains to find strong contributors. But it’s the choice of Cash as narrator that’s impressive, her own darkly personal songs a significant reflection of how Gentry changed the tide of country music for later female artists.
'Whatever Happened to Bobbie Gentry?' is on Radio 2 on Monday 14 May at 10.00pm.