From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bobbie Lee Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame with her intriguing southern gothic narrative "Ode to Billie Joe" in 1967. The track spent four weeks as the No. 1 pop song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was fourth in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967, earning Gentry Grammy awards for Best Ne ...