Mississippi Country Music Trail

The Mississippi Country Music Trail marker commemorating Bobbie Gentry is at the entrance to a bridge on crossing the Tallahatchie River on Grand Avenue in Greenwood, Leflore County, Mississippi.

The GPS location of the Bobbie Gentry marker is: N 33° 32.331′ W 90° 11.611′

The Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie gentry, Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi
The Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry, Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi

The front of the marker reads:”BOBBIE GENTRY – Born Roberta Lee Streeter in Chickasaw County (1944) and spending her childhood here, Bobbie Gentry brought the accents, sounds and images of Delta life into scores of haunting songs she wrote and records she made, to become one of the most influential country and pop artists of the 1960s and ’70s. With her phenomenal Number One hit ‘Ode To Billie Joe‘ and complex, innovative albums such as the Delta Sweete, she brought the sultry flavors of Mississippi country to the world.”

Bobbie Gentry’s best known song, “Ode To Billie Joe” contains lyrics about “the Tallahatchie bridge,” including “you and Billie Joe was throwing something off the Tallahatchie Bridge” and “Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge,” so it quite appropriate that this Mississippi Country Music Trail marker is placed at the entrance to a bridge over the Tallahatchie River.

The Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry, is at the entrance to a bridge over the Tallahatchie River on Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi
The Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry, is at the entrance to a bridge over the Tallahatchee River on Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi
The Tallahatchee River, as seen from the "Tallahatchee Bridge" on Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi, near the Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry
The Tallahatchee River, as seen from the “Tallahatchee Bridge” on Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi, near the Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry
The Tallahatchee River, as seen from the "Tallahatchee Bridge" on Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi, near the Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry
The Tallahatchee River, as seen from the “Tallahatchee Bridge” on Grand Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi, near the Mississippi Country Music Trail marker for Bobbie Gentry

In 1976, “Ode To Billie Joe” was made into a movie, starring Robbie Benson and directed by Max Baer (the Max Baer who played Jethro in the Beverly Hillbillies).

Here are some YouTube videos about Bobbie Gentry:

 

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