>> She then married some very old rich codger <<
That was a certain Mr. Harrah, of casino fame. But the marriage fell apart after just a few months
>> and disappeared from the music scene all together <<
That took a few more years. In the meantime, she did a fair bit of recording and TV, especially in England.
Still, nothing ever came close to the success of the original”Billy Joe” song. Whatever the details of her life and career, it seems that she eventually gave up entirely and faded into total obscurity.
I guess we’ll never hear anything about her again until her obit suddenly appears one of these days out of nowhere. She’s now in her 70’s, so she easily should be able to hold out for a dozen or more years.
In any case, it’s really a shame that she didn’t continue to write and/or sing in some capacity. Her tremendous talent and creativity are gifts that could have enriched the American music scene over the past 30 or so years since she sadly dropped out — and perhaps they could be enriching us even into the next decade. We can only wish!
To her credit at least she hasn’t been flapping her jaw on liberal issues.
She also married Jim Stafford. I was a bit surprised when I found that o ut.
She also wrote and sang “Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing”. Really it was a better song than Ode to Billy Joe lyrics and tune music.