THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
Bobbie Gentry took this wistful and melancholy ode to the passage of time, a “tale veiled in passion and mystery” (Riley Johnson, https://www.countrythangdaily.com/best-bobbie-gentry-songs/), to #81 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Remarkably, many listeners were moved by this . . . masterpiece’s message of hopelessness, loneliness, and desire.” (Johnson again) John Buck Wilkin, formerly of Ronny & the Daytonas, wrote it — “a great example of [his] talents as a songwriter.” (Larry, https://ironleg.wordpress.com/2019/01/01/bobbie-gentry-apartment-21/)
“Everyday goes Another days gone Hate to say so but I’m getting older Day by day”
2,160) John Buck Wilkin — “Apartment Twenty-One”
Ritchie Unterberger tells us of Wilkin:
John “Bucky” Wilkin, the son of Marijohn Wilkin (author of the country classic “Long Black Veil”), is most noted as a session guitarist on numerous country and rock records of the 1970s, particularly outlaw country releases by Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Kinky Friedman, and Jessi Colter. He was also a songwriter and put out a little-known solo LP, In Search of Food, Clothing, Shelter & Sex, on Liberty. The record was easygoing, though sometimes moodily eccentric, country-folk-rock with frequent orchestration. Prior to his solo album, Wilkin had been in Ronny & the Daytonas, famous for their 1964 hot rod hit “Little GTO.” Wilkin was also in the American Eagles (not to be confused with the much more famous Eagles), who also included keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and put out a single in 1969.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-buck-wilkin-mn0001231556
2,161) Bobbie Gentry — “Apartment 21”
Larry writes of Gentry’s version:
Her take on the song, recorded in Muscle Shoals with Rick Hall, has a slightly more country feeling to it than the original. The arrangement, with subtle layers of strings and woodwinds, as well as some interesting fuzz guitar, does justice to the original.
https://ironleg.wordpress.com/2019/01/01/bobbie-gentry-apartment-21/
Jason Ankeny writes of Bobbie Gentry:
Bobbie Gentry . . . debuted with an enigmatic, enduring smash hit who then cultivated an idiosyncratic country-pop crossover sound for a few years before retreating from the spotlight, never to be heard from again. . . .” Ode to Billie Joe[]” . . . rocketed to number one after its release in 1967. . . . She didn’t manage a[nother] big pop hit . . . , instead transitioning over to the country charts after her trippy psychedelic-Americana album The Delta Sweete failed to generate hits on either chart. . . . Of Portuguese descent, Gentry was born Roberta Streeter in Chickasaw County, Mississippi . . . . [H]er parents divorced shortly after her birth and she was raised in poverty on her grandparents’ farm. . . . [A]t 13, she moved to Arcadia, California, to live with her mother, and soon began her performing career in local country clubs. . . . In 1964, she made her recorded debut, cutting a pair of duets . . . with rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds. . . . [A]n early 1967 recording demo found its way to Capitol Records[.] . . . [U]pon signing to the label, she issued her debut single, “Mississippi Delta.” However, disc jockeys began spinning the B-side, the self-penned “Ode to Billie Joe” . . . . With her second album, 1968’sThe Delta Sweete, Gentry returned to the country charts with the minor hit “Okolona River Bottom Band.” . . . [She] wrote much of her own material, drawing on her Mississippi roots to compose revealing vignettes . . . . Favoring more soulful and rootsy arrangements over the lavish countrypolitan style in vogue in Nashville at the time, Gentry’s records sound quite unlike anything on either the country or pop charts at the time and her smoky, sensuous voice adapted easily to a variety of musical contexts. . . . [H]er excellent third album, 1968’s Local Gentry, received little notice. That same year, Gentry issued a duet album with Glen Campbell . . . ; the duo regularly collaborated throughout the ’70s . . . . In 1969, Gentry reached her creative zenith with Touch ‘Em with Love; though cut in Nashville, the record owed far more to the gritty R&B sounds emanating across the state in Memphis . . . . [A]s her star diminished . . . she became a fixture on the Las Vegas circuit, mounting an elaborate nightclub revue that she not only headlined but also wrote and produced, even overseeing the choreography and costuming. In 1970 she returned to the county and pop Top 40 with the title cut from her fifth album Fancy. In 1971, she issued her final Capitol effort, Patchwork . . . .
Oh, and here’s Wayne Newton:
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