And why is it that the only song of hers to be revived is 'Fancy'? Not the best. Ode to Billy Joe, on the other hand, (included in my College Norton Anthology, in fact), was a piece of songwriting worthy of Van Zandt or Kristofferson. 'Mississippi Delta', also amazing, has fallen into utter obscurity.
Here are some more of her truly great lyrics:
Similar in theme, (sort of), to 'Fancy' is Chickasaw County Child
She wrote one about Billy the Kid too....
She "lost interest in performing" per Wikki - wonder why? I hope she's kept writing. She produced all of her own stuff - one of the first female Country singers to both produce and write her own material.
This talented woman grew tired of butting heads with the boysclub mentality of the record buisness. She retired in 1980 to devote herself to her newborn son, Tyler, from a brief marriage to singer Jim Stafford. She retired on her own terms with a fortune in the tens of millions based on her songwriting and business dealings. She even owned a minority share of the Phoniex Sund basbetball team. Ode to Billie Joe has been covered by over 100 artists and sold 50 million records. Fancy boasts a dozen covers and over 20 million in sales. Her lush compoition 'Mornin' Glory' was covered by master jazz pianist Bill Evans on his historic 'Live In Toyko' album.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for adding that! She's amazing.
ReplyDelete