Orville Peck releases his cover of ‘Fancy’

Following the release of his debut album Pony last year, masked cowboy crooner Orville Peck is following it up with a new EP called Show Pony and it includes his cover of Bobbie’s ‘Fancy’ which fans will be familiar with from his live shows.
“I loved my experience with Pony,” Orville says. “However, Show Pony is a more confident perspective and allows me to share even more both lyrically and musically. Like all country albums, Show Pony is a little collection of stories – some sad, some happy – and I am excited for people to hear it.”

R.I.P Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser, the influential American graphic designer who adorned Bob Dylan’s silhouette with psychedelic hair, and created the “I ♥ NY” logo, has died on his 91st birthday. Milton also designed the font on the cover of Bobbie’s debut album Ode To Billie Joe and which we re-used on the cover of the Live at the BBC LP.

Delta Sweete Deluxe Edition coming this July

It’s the third of June, which means it’s Bobbie Gentry day! to make it extra special this year, on 31st July, UMC will release an expanded edition of The Delta Sweete on 2 CD and deluxe 2-disc vinyl. The expanded CD edition features a new stereo mix of the album (sourced directly from the surviving four-track and eight-track tapes) by Producer/Compiler Andrew Batt and the original mono mix, making it’s first appearance on CD. 

There are a total of 10 bonus tracks to treasure, including a previously unreleased original demo ‘The Way I Do’ (streaming now here) and a special instrumental version of ‘Okolona River Bottom Band’ featuring the great Shorty Rogers on bass trumpet. The deluxe vinyl is the first official repress of the album since 1972 and features the new stereo mix on disc 1 and the 10 bonus tracks on disc 2.

For the full tracklisting visit our album page. The set is available to pre-order here.

The Masked Singer: Miss Monster aka Chaka Khan sings ‘Fancy’

The iconic singer songwriter Chaka Khan, who had been disguised as Miss Monster, on Season 3 of The Masked Singer impressed Judges in episode 2 with a performance of Bobbie’s 1969 hit ‘Fancy’. Chaka made the song her own and viewers and panelists knew then there was a legendary singer under that pink monster mask! If you missed her performance you can catch up with it on youtube here.

Grammy nomination for ‘The Girl From Chickasaw County’

Its a happy day at Gentry towers, as the 2020 Grammy nominations have been announced and ‘The Girl From Chickasaw County’ boxset has recieved a nomination in the best historical album category. Bravo to everyone involved in this dream project. Fingers crossed for 26th of January!

PBS ‘My Music’ series features Bobbie

The ongoing PBS ‘My Music’ series features Bobbie in it’s latest episode on story songs, hosted by five time Grammy Award-winning singer B.J. Thomas. Their press release states: “Throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, ‘Story Songs’ weren’t just great music — they helped unite us through our shared culture, history and personal experiences. From country pop favorites to folk-rock epics, ‘Story Songs’ relate to all of our lives. Don McLean’s anthem ‘American Pie’ (the number one hit for a full month in 1972), Bobbie Gentry’s iconic 1967 musical monologue ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ (one of Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Time) and Harry Chapin’s poignant ‘Cat’s In The Cradle’ are musical tales we all know and love.”

The episode broadcasts in June, but you’ll have to search the listings on your local PBS website for the dates in your area.

New ‘Perry Como’s Music Hall’ DVD features Bobbie

For a staggering six decades, Perry Como was a regular presence on U.S television screens with his long-running, award-winning programs. This month MPI Home Video releases a unique DVD from the late crooner. Perry Como’s Music Hall features a rare April 1967 broadcast from NBC’s New York studios with guest stars George Carlin along with the late pop-jazz chanteuse Nancy Wilson, and young ballerina Joyce Cuoco. The disc comes with some bonus features including a rare Bobbie duet of Doctor Dolittle‘s ‘Talk to the Animals’ from her appearance on the November 1967 episode.

Mercury Rev ‘The Delta Sweete Revisited’, out now

The long awaited album by Mercury Rev; ‘Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited’, is released today via Bella Union and Partisan Records on CD, Vinyl and digital. The album is a re-imagining of Bobbie Gentry’s 1968 masterpiece and features an incredible gust list of guest vocalists including Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), Norah Jones, Margo Price, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucinda Williams, Vashti Bunyan, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab), Beth Orton, Marissa Nadler, Kaela Sinclair (M83), Susanne Sundfør, Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones) udiscover review the album, contrasting it with Bobbie’s original release.

New Bobbie feature on Pop Matters

Music journalist Charles Donovan has written a new feature on Bobbie for Pop Matters, where he examines the impact of the boxset, and speaks to four Gentry commentators to try to understand more about her life, her music career and her decision to call it quits including; Andrew Batt (boxset compiler/producer), Tara Martha (author/journalist), Donald Bradburn (Bobbie’s choreographer), and John Cameron (Musical Director for Bobbie’s three BBC series).Check it out here.

Financial Times feature on ‘The Delta Sweete Revisited’

The Financial Times ran a great piece about Bobbie and the forthcoming Mercury Rev album ‘The Delta Sweete Revisited’which you can read online here.