Remember singer/songwriter Bobbie Gentry’s 1967 Southern Gothic tale of doomed romance, “Ode to Billie Joe?” Remember the mysterious lyric that left you wondering what was thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge? (We had our theories, of course.) Equally mysterious is Bobbie Gentry’s disappearance from the public eye for the past thirty-plus years. There’s been no scandal, no explanation, not even a clue about where she has retired.
Philadelphia journalist Tara Murtha has dug deep into the story behind Ms. Gentry’s most famous song, as well as the story of her life, with her book, Ode to Billie Joe, the latest entry in the “33 1/3” book series devoted to various pop albums of significance. She wrote it with the hope that Ms. Gentry, now 70, might decide to contact her. She’s still waiting.
