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Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

Although the unforgettable Ode To Billie Jo had been a number one single and album in the USA it didn't even reach the top ten in the UK, however her photo on the album cover and reports of her American TV appearances must have drawn attention to producers at the BBC. An invite was made, contracts signed and after introductory appearances on Top of the Pops in May 1968 and Billy Cotton's Bandshow in June Gentry set about recording her first BBC TV series to be shown in colour on BBC2, where it would be shown on Saturday nights.


Announcing the series Radio Times said Bobbie Gentry "sings of the fragrance, love, sorrow and humour of the Delta country." Dance troupe Pan's People were resident as were singing group The Tears of Joy, John Cameron was the Musical Director, while the show would be produced and directed by Stanley Dorfman. He would later claim that despite his Producer/Director credit, Gentry herself would have as much creative input. It was Dorfman's idea to hire Pan's People, much to the chagrin of Gentry who would then choose inappropriate outfits for the girls just to make things difficult. One week they were dressed as trees. One of the dancers would later claim that Gentry would be stoned on set.


Due to the inclusion of John Cameron, who was also musical arranger for many of Mickie Mosts's recording sessions many of London's top class session players were invited to play, like Alan Parker on guitar, Herbie Flowers and Danny Thompson on bass, Harold McNair on flutes and saxophone and Tony Carr on drums and percussion.


Talking to Disc in June 1968, just after arriving in the country to record the show she exclaimed how much of a big deal this was for an American. "They're very impressed. It's a very prestige thing to have a British TV series. I'm trilled about it."


Each half-hour show began with a version of Mississippi Delta and she would then perform songs from her first album, and a couple from the forthcoming Local Gentry, with each show finishing with Chickasaw County Child. Although the show was recorded in London, there was location filming in and around her Mississippi home, including locales in and around the area that inspired Ode To Billie Jo.


Featured guests on the first series were Alan Price, Donovan, The Hollies, Long John Baldry and future singing partner Glen Campbell. There was no audience present for the recording, giving the show a refreshing non-Light Entertainment feel.


Despite the series and other television appearances it made no difference to her albums sales, with Ode To Billie Joe failing to enter the UK top forty album chart as a result. Her next, Local Gentry, fared no better. It was likely that while she was recording the first series she also took the time to record some songs for that second album.


She was back in London to shoot her second series after appearing on Top of the Pops and Dee Time to help promote it. Arriving in the UK on 4th May 1969 Gentry began work on the series on 14th May. Again Mississippi Delta and Chickasaw County Child topped and tailed each show while Stanley Dorfman, John Cameron, The Tears of Joy and Pan's People also returned, while on the evidence of home audio recordings it appears that John Cameron may have had a musical piece to himself each week. The guests this time were Joe South, Billy Preston, Alan Price, Noel Harrison, James Taylor (performing songs from his Apple LP) and John Hartford. This time, the show was moved to Wednesday night. After the show had finished its run on BBC2 she finally gets her big breakthrough in the UK singles charts as her cover of I'll Never Fall In Love Again reaches number one.


A third series must have been planned for recording in September 1970 as Tony Joe White was booked in to guest on the 10th, along with James Taylor, but she made plenty of personal appearances on other people's shows instead, as well as starring in her own half-hour special in October, again produced by Stanley Dorfman, who she was engaged to at one point this year.


The third and final series, now titled Gentry (despite having the original intro credits) finally appeared on BBC2 in 1971 with the usual supporting team, but Sue & Sunny were the backing singers this time around and were seen on set, while the dance troupe were now credited as Pan's People and Friends. According to The Stage Gentry herself devised each show, presumably in terms of theme and she was certainly more involved in song and dance numbers, just like Cilla, Cliff and Lulu on BBC1. Guests included Jerry Reed, Tony Joe White, Marmalade, Elton John, Mason Williams, Randy Newman, while Alan Price made a third appearance. This time the look and feel was different to the previous two series, with more scenery, more dancers (male and female) and a live studio audience present. It was probably not recognised at the time but 1971 would see her final album, Patchwork, and she sang several songs from it.


Her guest slot on the Harry Secombe show in July 1971 would be her last TV appearance in the UK for many years, finally turning up on the Des O'Connor Show in 1977. However in 1974, long after her hits had dried up her TV career would pick up again with The Bobbie Gentry Happiness Hour on CBS, her first and only TV series in the USA.


The soundtrack to the surviving shows would appear on her 2018 CD box set The Girl From Chickasaw County (The Complete Capitol Masters), while BBC4 played all five surviving shows in November 2023.



BOBBIE GENTRY

BBC2

13th July 1968 - 23rd July 1969

GENTRY

BBC2
1st February 1971 - 15th March 1971