The tragic film was based on a chart-topping 1967 song.

The musical score was composed by a legendary three-time Oscar winner.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Robby Benson as Billy Joe McAllister with tears on his face in a scene from the 1976 film Ode to Billy Joe. “What the song didn’t ...

The meaning of Bobbie Gentry’s 1967 hit “Ode to Billie Joe” has long been a topic of musical debate. To some listeners, the song refers to a secret teenage pregnancy in the conservative Deep South. To ...