American singer-songwriter
Bobbie Gentry
|
---|
Gentry in a publicity photo for Capitol Records in 1969
|
Born
| Roberta Lee Streeter
(
1942-07-27
)
July 27, 1942
(age 81)
[1]
|
---|
Occupation
| Singer-songwriter
|
---|
Known for
| "
Ode to Billie Joe
"
|
---|
Spouses
|
(
m.
1969;
div.
1970)
Thomas R. Toutant
(
m.
1976;
div.
1978)
(
m.
1978;
div.
1980)
|
---|
Children
| 1
|
---|
Musical career
|
Genres
| |
---|
Instrument(s)
| Vocals, guitar
|
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Years active
| 1966?1982
|
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Labels
| |
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Musical artist
|
|
|
Bobbie Gentry
(born
Roberta Lee Streeter
; July 27, 1942)
[1]
is a retired American singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material.
[2]
[3]
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her
Southern Gothic
narrative "
Ode to Billie Joe
".
[4]
The track spent four weeks at No. 1 on the
Billboard
Hot 100
chart and was third in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967,
[5]
earning Gentry
Grammy
awards for
Best New Artist
and
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
in 1968.
[6]
Gentry charted 11 singles on the
Billboard
Hot 100 and four singles on the United Kingdom Top 40.
[7]
Her album
Fancy
brought her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
[6]
After her first albums, she had a successful run of variety shows on the
Las Vegas Strip
.
[8]
In the late 1970s, Gentry lost interest in performing, and retired from the music industry. News reports conflict on the subject of where she lives.
Early life
[
edit
]
Gentry was born Roberta Lee Streeter on July 27, 1942, near
Woodland
in
Chickasaw County, Mississippi
, to Ruby Lee (nee Shipman; November 28, 1920 ? April 2, 1989)
[9]
and Robert Harrison Streeter. When her parents divorced shortly after her birth, her mother moved to California, leaving Gentry to be raised on a farm by her paternal grandparents. She grew up without electricity or plumbing. Her grandmother traded one of the family's milk cows for a neighbor's piano, and, at age seven, Gentry composed her first song, "My Dog Sergeant Is a Good Dog". Gentry lived in
Greenwood, Mississippi
, with her father for a few years and learned to play the guitar and banjo.
At age 13, Gentry moved to
Palm Springs, California
, to live with her then-remarried mother. They performed as a duo, Ruby and Bobbie Meyers, for a short time. Gentry took her stage name from the 1952 film
Ruby Gentry
,
which she had seen on television. In the film, Ruby (played by
Jennifer Jones
) was a poor but beautiful girl from the backwoods, who ended up marrying the town tycoon.
After graduating from high school, Gentry moved to Los Angeles to enter
UCLA
as a philosophy major. She supported herself with clerical jobs, occasionally performing at nightclubs and country clubs, and when she appeared in a revue at Les Folies Bergeres nightclub in
Las Vegas
,
Bob Hope
encouraged her to keep performing. She worked as a fashion model, and on June 29, 1962,
United Press International
circulated a
wire photo
of Gentry that included
Cheryl Crane
, daughter of
Lana Turner
.
[10]
Gentry transferred to the
Los Angeles Conservatory of Music
, where she took classes in composition, music theory and arranging. While attending a
Jody Reynolds
concert at a club in Palm Springs in 1966, Gentry asked if she could sit in on one of Reynolds' recording sessions. This led to an invitation to sing on two duets with Reynolds: "Stranger in the Mirror" and "Requiem for Love". The two songs were released in September 1966 by Titan Records, but failed to chart.
Career
[
edit
]
1967: Debut
[
edit
]
Gentry recorded a demo at Whitney Recording Studio in Glendale, California, in February and March 1967. Her sole ambition originally was to write songs to sell to other artists, telling
The Washington Post
that she only sang on the recording of "Ode to Billie Joe" that she took to Capitol because it was cheaper than hiring someone to sing it.
[11]
Gentry signed with Capitol Records on June 23, 1967, where staff producer
Kelly Gordon
would produce
Ode to Billie Joe
as his first full-length album for the label. But it was "Mississippi Delta", intended as the A-side of her first single, that initially got Gentry signed. Her original demo of "Mississippi Delta" was the version issued, but "Ode to Billie Joe" acquired a string arrangement by
Jimmie Haskell
, dubbed onto the original recording at Capitol. The day after the string session, Capitol's A&R team decided to make "Ode to Billie Joe" the A-side.
[12]
The single was released on July 10, 1967. It would spend four weeks at number one on the
Billboard
Hot 100
and, on the year-end chart, place number three. The single reached number eight on the
Billboard
Black Singles chart and number 13 on the UK Top 40.
[7]
It sold more than 3,000,000 copies worldwide.
[2]
In 2001,
Rolling Stone
magazine listed "Ode to Billie Joe" among
the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
.
Following the single's success, the producers quickly assembled the rest of the album from the 12 demos Gentry had recorded, completing overdubs in a matter of days. The result was a unique combination of blues, folk, and jazz elements that rounded out Gentry's recollections of her home, coming across more as a concept album than a hastily assembled collection of songs. Capitol pre-ordered 500,000 copies?the largest pressing of a debut album in the label's prior history. The album hit stores within a month of pressing, on August 21.
[12]
Ode to Billie Joe
replaced
the Beatles
'
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
at the top of the
Billboard
200
and reached No. 5 on the
Billboard
Black Albums chart. Gentry won three
Grammy Awards
in 1967, including
Best New Artist
and
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
. She was also named the
Academy of Country Music
's Most Promising Female Vocalist.
[13]
1968:
The Delta Sweete
,
Local Gentry
and Glen Campbell
[
edit
]
In February 1968, Gentry took part in the
Italian Song Festival in Sanremo
competition, as one of two performers of "La Siepe" by
Vito Pallavicini
and Massara. Capitol released the song concurrently as a single, backed by another Italian tune also recorded by Gentry, "La Citta e Grande" by Pallavicini and De Ponti.
[14]
Gentry's second album,
The Delta Sweete
, was released in February 1968. In its musical ambition, the album represented a decisive step beyond her debut. This concept album drew inspiration from Gentry's Mississippi Delta roots. Most of its sound comes from Gentry, who played almost every instrument on its tracks, including piano, guitar, banjo, bass, and vibes. Nonetheless, Capitol's Kelly Gordon, producer of Gentry's first work for the label, also received the entire producing credit for
The Delta Sweete.
The album earned Gentry two more entries on the
Billboard
Hot 100. "Okolona River Bottom Band" peaked at number 54, while her cover of "Louisiana Man" made it to number 100. Although the album failed to match the success of its predecessor, only reaching number 132 on the
Billboard
200, critics have called it one of the unacclaimed masterpieces of the 1960s.
[15]
Following
The Delta Sweete
, Capitol released Gentry's third album,
Local Gentry
, in August 1968. It failed to appear on any of the
Billboard
album charts, but did peak at number 83 on the
Cashbox
Top 100 Albums chart.
[16]
In September, one month after the release of
Local Gentry,
the artist's third album of 1968 came out.
Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell
features duets with label mate
Glen Campbell
. Their chemistry made the partnership a great success. The album peaked at number 11 on the
Billboard
Top LP's
chart and number one on the
Top Country LP's
chart. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA and earned Gentry and Campbell the
Academy of Country Music
award for Album of the Year.
[17]
Gentry was also nominated for Top Female Vocalist.
Bobbie Gentry
(TV series)
[
edit
]
In 1968, Gentry was invited to host her own variety show on
BBC Two
in the UK, making her the first female songwriter to front a series on the channel. The initial six episodes of
Bobbie Gentry
were broadcast weekly from July 13 to August 17, 1968. It featured musicians from the Mississippi countryside, as well as guests such as
Donovan
,
the Hollies
,
Glen Campbell
,
James Taylor
,
Randy Newman
,
Elton John
,
Alan Price
,
Billy Preston
, and
Pan's People
. Two further, six-episode series were broadcast from June 18 to July 23 1969; and February 1 to March 15, 1971.
The series was produced and directed by
Stanley Dorfman
, who was engaged to be married to Gentry in 1970,
[18]
and credited Gentry as his co-director. Dorfman told author Tara Murtha, "After a few episodes, she was pretty much co-directing the show because she had such great ideas. [But] the BBC wouldn't have it, wouldn't have an artist credited as a director or producer, so the credit went to me as producer and director. But she definitely contributed as much as I did creatively to the show. She was just full of ideas."
[19]
John Cameron
, the
music arranger
for her BBC shows noted, "She was pretty much the alpha female in the group ? [producer] Stanley Dorfman's assistant Kate and choreographer
Flick Colby
were the only other prominent females in the crew. She certainly didn't have a support group like
Dusty
[Springfield].
[20]
"The series garnered widespread recognition and was syndicated globally.
[21]
[22]
All but five of the 18 episodes were
wiped
by the BBC and those surviving were rebroadcast for the first time in November 2023 on
BBC Four
.
[23]
From 1968?1971, while in the UK recording her own series, Gentry also made numerous guest appearances on other BBC shows. These included a one-hour special for the
In Concert
series, broadcast on October 30, 1970; and Glen Campbell's own BBC Two special, broadcast May 6, 1970.
[24]
1969:
Touch 'Em with Love
[
edit
]
Gentry's fifth album,
Touch 'Em with Love
, came out in July 1969. It marked a transition in her career: In an attempt to re-brand Gentry as a blue-eyed soul singer, it featured fewer self-penned regional songs and more systematically chosen cover songs. Recorded in Nashville and produced by Kelso Herston, the album's 10 tracks included only two originals. The title track was released as the first single, but it failed to go above number 113 on
Billboard'
s
Bubbling Under the Hot 100
chart and only reached number 164 on the
Billboard
200. Gentry's cover of "
I'll Never Fall in Love Again
" was released as the second single in the UK, where it became a number one hit on the
UK Singles Chart
. The album reached number 21 on the
UK Albums Chart
.
[25]
In 1969, Gentry taped four television specials for Canadian television station
CFTO-TV
Toronto
for North American syndication.
[26]
1970:
Fancy
[
edit
]
April 1970 saw the release of
Fancy
, Gentry's sixth album in three years. Like 1969's
Touch 'Em with Love
, it contains only covers, except for the artist's self-penned title track. Most of the album was recorded at
Fame Recording Studios
in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with producer
Rick Hall
. "
Fancy
", released as the album's first single, became Gentry's biggest hit since "Ode to Billie Joe", peaking within the top 40 in the US, Canada, and Australia. Of the song Gentry herself said, "Fancy is my strongest statement for women's lib, if you really listen to it. I agree wholeheartedly with that movement and all the serious issues that [it stands] for?equality, equal pay, day care centers, and abortion rights," she explained to
After Dark
magazine in 1974.
[27]
The album's first European single, a cover of "
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
", peaked at number 40. The album's second North American single, "He Made a Woman Out of Me", did not reach the same heights as "Fancy", reaching only number 71 on the
Billboard
Hot 100.
Gentry would be nominated for
Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female
at the
13th Annual Grammy Awards
.
1971?1974:
Patchwork
and departure from Capitol
[
edit
]
Gentry released
Patchwork
in April 1971. It has been described as a collection of short stories in song, ranging from country and pop to blues, stitched together with cinematic interludes to form a cohesive whole.
Patchwork
was Gentry's first entirely self-written and -produced album. Its first single: "But I Can't Get Back", was a small hit, peaking at number 37 on the
Billboard
Top 40 Easy Listening
chart and number 93 in Canada.
[28]
Gentry would release one more single for Capitol in August 1972, "The Girl from Cincinnati".
Around the time
Patchwork
was released, the entire executive board that had been at Capitol throughout Gentry's career was fired. A major restructuring at Capitol took place as parent company EMI tried to seize back control and rekindle the label's dwindling profits. This saw the artist roster slashed from 247 to 81 alongside extensive cuts to production and marketing budgets. With none of the executive board left that had known and worked with her, negotiations stalled over the renewal terms of Gentry's contract, and this failure to reach an agreement with Capitol created a stalemate. Since Gentry was unwilling to release an album with Capitol on the terms offered, she found herself unable to release an album on another label, meaning she was left with no choice but to wait out the remaining option period of her contract.
In 1974, she hosted a summer replacement variety show on
CBS
called
The Bobbie Gentry Happiness Hour
. The show, which was her version of Glen Campbell's hit series
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
, was not renewed for a full season.
1975?1977: Post-Capitol recordings
[
edit
]
In 1975, Gentry wrote and performed "Another Place, Another Time" for writer-director
Max Baer, Jr.
's film
Macon County Line
. Following the film's success the song was released on a promotional
7-inch single
. In 1976, Baer directed the feature film
Ode to Billy Joe
, based on Gentry's hit song and starring
Robby Benson
and
Glynnis O'Connor
. In the movie, the mystery of the title character's suicide is revealed as a part of the conflict between his love for Bobbie Lee Hartley and a drunken homosexual experience.
[29]
Warner Bros. Records
released a soundtrack of the score by Michel Legrand, including a re-recorded version of "Ode to Billie Joe", re-titled "Ode to Billy Joe" to match the film's title, with Gentry stating that the original spelling was an error. Warner Bros. released the new version as a single and Capitol re-released the original version, which gave Gentry two concurrent chart placings with the same song. The re-recording would go on to be Gentry's last single to chart, meaning that her first and last chart entries are the same song.
[30]
In 1977 Gentry reunited with producer Rick Hall in Muscle Shoals to record an album for the
Curb Records
division of Warner Bros. Records (unlike Gentry's 1969
Fancy
album, Gentry's 1977 recording sessions with Hall were not at his FAME Studios but at the nearby Music Mill Studio). After an advance single: "
Steal Away
", had an unsuccessful February 1978 release, the album was shelved. "Steal Away" - a remake of the 1964
Jimmy Hughes
hit which had inaugurated FAME Studios’ hit streak - had as its B-side: the
Patti Dahlstrom
composition "He Did Me Wrong, But He Did It Right": these tracks plus three additional tracks from Gentry's 1977 recording sessions: "Slow Cookin'" (written by Abby Marable), "Sweet Country" (written by Gentry), and "Thunder in the Afternoon" (written by
Mac Davis
, Rita Grimm and Yvonne Norman), would be released on the 1992 European compilation album
Ode to Billie Joe
.
1978?1982: Final projects before retirement
[
edit
]
Gentry appeared as a guest on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
on Christmas Day 1978. She attended the Best of Vegas Awards on March 21, 1980.
On May 10, 1981, Gentry was one of many celebrity guests to take part in
An All-Star Salute to Mother's Day
. During the television special she performed "Mama, a Rainbow" from the musical
Minnie's Boys
for her mother who was seated in the audience. This would prove to be Gentry's final public performance.
The last time Gentry appeared in public was when she attended the
Academy of Country Music Awards
on April 30, 1982. Since that time, she has not recorded, performed or been interviewed. One 2016 news report stated that Gentry lived in a
gated community
near
Memphis, Tennessee
.
[31]
According to another report the same year, Gentry lived in a gated community in Los Angeles.
[32]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Gentry married casino magnate
Bill Harrah
on December 18, 1969. The couple divorced April 16, 1970.
On May 16, 1970, it was announced that Gentry was engaged to be married to Stanley Dorfman, the producer and director of her BBC television series
Bobbie Gentry
.
[18]
She married Thomas R. Toutant on August 17, 1976 and she divorced him on August 1, 1978.
On October 15, 1978, Gentry married singer and comedian
Jim Stafford
with whom she had a son, Tyler Gentry Stafford. Gentry and Stafford divorced in September 1980.
[36]
[37]
[38]
Gentry also had partial ownership of the
Phoenix Suns
NBA
team from the team's inception in 1968 until 1987.
[39]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Gentry charted 11 singles on the
Billboard
Hot 100
[2]
and four singles in the Top 40 of the
UK Singles Chart
.
[7]
Beth Orton
recorded a song titled "Bobby Gentry" featured on her
The Other Side of Daybreak
album.
Jill Sobule
recorded "Where Is Bobbie Gentry?" for her album
California Years
. Gentry's 1969 composition "Fancy" provided a top 10 country hit for
Reba McEntire
in 1991.
In 2011, producer and singer
Joe Henry
said Gentry's writing influenced him early in his life.
[40]
In September 2018, an eight-disc box set, titled
The Girl from Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters
, featuring all of Gentry's recordings for Capitol was released.
In February 2019,
Mercury Rev
released
Bobbie Gentry's the Delta Sweete Revisited
, which was called a "reimagining of Bobbie Gentry's forgotten masterpiece".
[41]
In 2020, she was inducted into the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
[42]
Discography
[
edit
]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Murtha, Tara (2015).
Ode to Billie Joe
. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 25.
ISBN
978-1-62356-964-8
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Bobbie Gentry"
.
- ^
Milano, Brett (March 21, 2019).
"Best Female Songwriters: An Essential Top 25 Countdown | uDiscover"
.
uDiscover Music
. Retrieved
February 20,
2020
.
- ^
Ochs, Meredith (June 3, 2014).
"The Confounding, Enigmatic 'Ode To Billie Joe'
"
.
Ode To Billie Joe
. NPR
. Retrieved
June 5,
2014
.
- ^
"Chairborne Ranger Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Songs 1967"
.
Chairborne Ranger
. Archived from
the original
on November 24, 2005
. Retrieved
December 6,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Bobbie Gentry Grammies"
. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
. Retrieved
September 24,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
"UK Top 40 Hit Database"
.
Everyhit.co.uk
. Retrieved
April 23,
2008
.
- ^
"Four decades since Bobbie Gentry shunned fame, a new box set restores her unrivaled legacy"
.
Los Angeles Times
. October 12, 2018
. Retrieved
September 24,
2019
.
- ^
"Clipping from Reno Gazette-Journal"
.
Reno Gazette-Journal
. April 4, 1989. p. 22
. Retrieved
September 11,
2018
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Photo dated 6/29/1962
Archived
December 18, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
United Press International
(photographer uncredited). Reproduced on 333sound.com, December 3, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014
- ^
Murtha, Tara (2015).
Ode to Billie Joe
. New York: Blumsbury. p. 58.
ISBN
978-1-6235-6964-8
.
- ^
a
b
"Ode To Billie Joe ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
June 12,
2018
.
- ^
BubbleUp, LTD.
"ACM Winners ? Academy of Country Music"
.
Academy of Country Music
.
- ^
"La Siepe (The Hedge) ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 10,
2020
.
- ^
"The Delta Sweete ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk/
. Retrieved
February 10,
2020
.
- ^
"Local Gentry ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk/
. Retrieved
February 10,
2020
.
- ^
"Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 10,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Sullivan, Ed (May 16, 1970).
"Little Old New York"
.
The Morning Herald, Uniontown, Pennsylvania
. p. 8
. Retrieved
June 22,
2023
.
- ^
"Biography ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 14,
2020
.
- ^
Stanley, Bob (October 17, 2018).
"Bobbie Gentry: whatever happened to the trailblazing queen of country?"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
June 11,
2023
.
- ^
"Bobbie Gentry, dark-eyes folk singer from Mississippi, starts her series for the BBC"
.
The Birmingham Evening Mail
. July 13, 1968. p. 6
. Retrieved
June 3,
2023
.
- ^
"Biography ? Bobbie Gentry"
. Retrieved
June 3,
2023
.
- ^
"Bobbie Gentry"
.
BBC
. June 4, 2024.
- ^
"Bobbie Gentry"
.
BBC Genome
. June 4, 2024.
- ^
"Touch 'Em with Love ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 11,
2020
.
- ^
"The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, · Page 82"
. May 30, 1970
. Retrieved
October 11,
2019
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Fancy ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Patchwork ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 10,
2020
.
- ^
Ebert, Roger.
"Ode to Billy Joe movie review (1976) | Roger Ebert"
.
Rogerebert.com
. Retrieved
October 11,
2019
.
- ^
"Ode to Billy Joe (Soundtrack re-recording) ? Bobbie Gentry"
.
bobbiegentry.org.uk
. Retrieved
February 11,
2020
.
- ^
Tucker, Neely (June 2, 2016).
"Whatever happened to Bobbie Gentry? In search of country music's great vanished star"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
June 3,
2016
.
- ^
Billy Watkins (May 31, 2016).
"What Happened to Singer Bobbie Gentry?"
.
The Clarion Ledger
.
- ^
LTD, BubbleUp.
"winners"
.
Academy of Country Music
. Retrieved
February 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Past Winners And Nominees"
.
CMA Awards
. Retrieved
February 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Bobbie Gentry"
. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. November 19, 2019
. Retrieved
February 11,
2020
.
- ^
Weisbard, Eric.
Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music
. New York: 2007.
- ^
Magazine in late 1978 in Las Vegas
- ^
Roberts, Jeremy (January 28, 2017).
"Bobbie Gentry had the most gorgeous legs ever: On the record with Grammy-winning arranger Jimmie…"
.
Medium.com
. Retrieved
February 9,
2019
.
- ^
Dukes, Billy (September 21, 2020).
"A Note To Bobbie Gentry, On Behalf Of Reba McEntire"
.
Taste Of Country
.
- ^
"Joe Henry: An Eclectic And Raucous 'Reverie
'
"
, transcript,
Fresh Air
interview with
Terry Gross
, November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- ^
"Mercury Rev announce "Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited" ? Bella Union"
.
Bellaunion.com
. Archived from
the original
on August 4, 2021
. Retrieved
February 9,
2019
.
- ^
"Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inducts 10 New Members"
.
Billboard
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Compilation albums
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Singles
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1950s
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Artists
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Other
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