"Ode to Billie Joe" was originally intended as the B-side of Gentry's first single recording, a blues number called "Mississippi Delta," on Capitol Records. According to some sources, the original recording of "Ode to Billie Joe," which featured no musicians backing Gentry's solo guitar, had eleven verses and ran eight minutes, telling more of Billie Joe's story. The executives realized that this song would work best as a single, so they cut the length by almost half and added background music: two cellos and four violins, according to Gentry.