Description
Bobbie Gentry – The Girl From Chickasaw County (Highlights From The Capitol Masters) – Double Vinyl Record
Bobbie Gentry – The Girl From Chickasaw County (Highlights From The Capitol Masters) is a 2018 compilation album released by Capitol/UMC that distills the expansive 8-CD box set The Girl From Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters into a more accessible 2-LP “highlights” edition. While the full box set offered a career-spanning deep dive—including seven remastered studio albums, rarities, and previously unreleased recordings—this highlights package serves as a curated introduction to Bobbie Gentry’s artistry, capturing her most important songs and giving new listeners a manageable entry point.
At its core, the collection celebrates Gentry’s innovative blend of country, pop, soul, and Southern Gothic storytelling, which made her one of the most distinctive singer-songwriters of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Naturally, it includes her defining hit “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967), the enigmatic Southern narrative song that launched her to stardom and earned her multiple Grammy Awards. But beyond that, the highlights set digs deeper, showcasing both her chart successes and overlooked gems.
Tracks like “Fancy” (later made famous by Reba McEntire), “Chickasaw County Child,” and “Okolona River Bottom Band” highlight Gentry’s sharp storytelling and ability to weave vivid, cinematic scenes of Southern life. Her knack for genre fusion is also evident: the funky “Mississippi Delta” and soulful “Touch ’Em With Love” show her versatility, while ballads like “Mornin’ Glory” and “Refractions” underscore her sensitivity as a vocalist and lyricist. The compilation also pulls from her collaborative work with Glen Campbell, including their easygoing duet “Let It Be Me.”
What makes this release significant is that for decades, much of Gentry’s catalog was out of print or difficult to find. She famously stepped away from the music industry in the early 1980s and has lived privately ever since, leaving fans and critics to reassess her legacy largely through reissues. The 2018 box set and its highlights edition helped fuel a revival of interest in her work, positioning her not just as the mysterious singer behind Ode to Billie Joe but as a trailblazing female artist who wrote, produced, and controlled her own music in an era when few women in country or pop had such agency.
Critics praised the highlights set as an essential overview, noting how it captures Gentry’s transformation from a breakout country-pop sensation to an adventurous, genre-defying songwriter. It also emphasizes her role as a Southern chronicler, comparable to writers like Flannery O’Connor in her ability to infuse everyday stories with haunting detail and social commentary.
The Girl From Chickasaw County (Highlights From The Capitol Masters) offers both longtime fans and newcomers a compact but powerful portrait of Bobbie Gentry’s artistry—a reminder that she was far more than a one-hit wonder, and that her brief but brilliant career left an enduring mark on American music.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Ode To Billie Joe
I Saw An Angel Die
Chickasaw County Child
Sunday Best (Alternate Take)
Hurry, Tuesday Child (Demo)
Niki Hokey / Barefootin’ (Live At The BBC)
Mississippi Delta (Alternate Version)
The Seventh Son (Band Version)
Mornin’ Glory
Jessye’ Lisabeth
Refractions
Courtyard
Feelin’ Good (Demo)
Sweete Peony (Alternate Version)
Casket Vignette
Recollection
Eleanor Rigby
Sittin’ Pretty
Hushabye Mountain
The Conspiracy Of Homer Jones
Sunday Mornin’ (Alternative Version)
Let It Be Me (Without Strings)
Supper Time
God Bless The Child
This Girl’s In Love With You
Touch ‘Em With Love (Stereo Version)
Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere
Seasons Come, Seasons Go (Demo)
Glory Halleluja, How They’ll Sing (Alternate Take)
Fancy
Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em, And Forget ‘Em
He Made A Woman Out Of Me
Rainmaker
Circle ‘Round The Sun
Apartment 21 (Stereo 21)
Billy The Kid (Live At The BBC)
Benjamin
But I Can’t Get Back
Belinda (Acoustic Version)
Mean Stepmama Blues
Lookin’ In
Smoke
Joanne
You And Me Together
The Girl From Cincinnati
