The year you were born

So many songs to choose from …
Till I found this one, that I have never heard before and it was really interesting to me.
Bobby Gentry – Ode to Billy Joe.
The single, released on July 10, 1967, was a number-one hit in the US within three weeks. It generated eight Grammy nominations, resulting in three wins for Gentry and one for arranger Jimmie Haskell.

Interesting to note that Bobbie Gentry was one of the first female artists to compose and produce her own material.

Now this song has a deep story and, till today, some mystery around it.

What did Billie Joe and his girlfriend throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
In the lyrics the mother shares the news that a local preacher visited earlier and, as an aside, adds that he mentioned seeing someone looking much like the narrator and Billie Joe “throwin’ somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge.
So speculation ran rampant after the song hit the airwaves about why Billie Joe committed suicide.

But there is another darker theme to the song. It is about indifference. The “unconscious cruelty” of the family when discussing the reported suicide.
An example is at the dinner table, where father seems unmoved, commenting, “Billie Joe never had a lick o’ sense,” before asking for the biscuits and adding that there’s “five more acres in the lower forty, I’ve got to plow.”
If you want, watch the second video talking about us humans a bit.

In this photograph from the November 10, 1967 issue of Life magazine, Bobbie Gentry crosses the Tallahatchie Bridge in Money, Mississippi. The bridge collapsed in June 1972 after a fire.

For those interested:
Let’s talk about why Billy Joe jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge…

Benjamin Earl King was an American soul and R&B singer best known for “Stand by Me” a US Top 10 hit in 1961. (The year of my birth 😊)

The song was a hit again in 1986 when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name. Ben E. King also sang lead vocals for The Drifters.

Written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, this was Frankie Valli’s biggest solo hit (not counting Four Seasons work) until his #1 “My Eyes Adored You” in 1975. This song reeks of success because just about everybody involved in it went on to a smash career. The song itself is almost an institution – it’s a contender for one of the top most-covered songs of all time. Cover versions include artists Andy Williams, Engelbert Humperdinck, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, Julio Iglesias, Gloria Gaynor, Maureen McGovern, Manic Street Preachers, and Lauryn Hill (who got a Grammy nomination – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – for her version).

In an interview with Frankie Valli, he said: “It’s a very, very tough song to do badly. When the song is that strong to start off with, that’s the kind of song you look for. I mean, if I were to do an album of songs that I wish I would have recorded, I certainly would have looked for those big ones. I wouldn’t be looking for obscure ones, I’d be looking for ones that people have success with.”

My song tonight was released on 19 June 1961, one of the biggest single hits of 1961. The song refers to the Twist dance craze and Checker’s 1960 “The Twist”. A two time US No 1 single and received the Grammy award for best Rock & Roll record in 1962. Enjoy🕺🏻💃🏻

Thank you Lynda for this theme. It has really been a mixed grill of great songs and memories.
I was born at 0005 on 3 July 1951 in District Six, Cape Town. The year when the new laws changed the history of District Six.
On 14 July 1951 American singer and Jazz pianist Nat King Cole released “Too Young”. It reached the charts in the USA and Europe as the number 1 song for 1951. Beautiful!!
Enjoy a glass of your best wine, light a cigar, sit back and relax while listening to this great artist🎹🎼🎺