There are some very talented country music singers who seemed to go off the grid, rarely to be heard from again. Lots of explanations can account for their preference to be anonymous rather than grapple with the intense demands of fame. Even in the era that was pre-social media, it was challenging to be a well-known person. One of these stars we're mentioning, Bobbie Gentry, is so reclusive that anything at all about her whereabouts is nearly impossible to find. We wanted to take a look back over the decades and revisit some country music singers from the 1970s who apparently vanished in plain sight.
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Wynn Stewart
Stewart earned renown for helping to trailblaze the Bakersfield sound. It originated in Bakersfield, California, during the 1950s and incorporated overtones of honky-tonk and rock into the country genre. Two legendary proponents of the Bakersfield sound were Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. Stewart's 1967 song, "It's Such a Pretty World Today," was named Country Music Song of the Year, per his web site. He passed away at the age of 51 from a heart attack in 1985.
Bobbie Gentry
Gentry scored a colossal and unexpected hit in 1967 with "Ode to Billie Joe," a hauntingly offbeat story song that made her wildly popular. Her success behind the scenes in a heavily-male dominated music industry was groundbreaking. Per American Songwriter, "She was one of the first female country artists to write and record her own songs and did so throughout the late '60s and early '70s."
Gentry solidified her reputation by doing an album in collaboration with another rising young country phenom, Glen Campbell. Gentry's final public appearance was forty-three years ago at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Although she retreated from the limelight long ago, we still recall her talent and wonderful songs. As far as country music singers from the 1970s go, Bobbie Gentry was one of the foremost ones.
Johnny Rodriguez
Rodriguez occupies an important niche in country music history. He was the genre's "first major Hispanic star." Now 73, per savingcountrymusic,com, he had an impressive "[s]ix #1 songs, fourteen Top 5's, twenty Top 10's, including a run of fifteen Top 10 songs to start his career between 1973 and 1978, Johnny Rodriguez helped define country music as much as anyone in the decade...." Rodriguez also got a nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year from the CMA in 1973. Although he receded from his earlier popularity, he reportedly still is occasionally active professionally.
Barbara Mandrell
Mandrell has had a truly legendary, nearly forty-year career, per her web site. She was in her glory in the 1970s, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame web site. Mandrell recorded many hits during that era, such as "'Standing Room Only' (1975-'76), 'Married, But Not to Each Other' (1977), and 'Woman to Woman' (1977-'78), all Top Ten hits. Two #1 records followed: 1978's 'Sleeping Single in a Double Bed' and 1979's 'If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right).'" She concluded her performing career in 1997 and now leads a more leisurely-paced life prioritizing her beloved family.
