Ode to Billie Joe Goes DISCO!

WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE: Sweet Potato Pie recorded one song although its two members, Laurin Rinder and Michael Lewis, were the creatives behind a multitude of disco groups including El Coco (Cocomotion), Le Pamplemousse (Le Spank), Saint Tropez (One More Minute) and Tuxedo Junction. The song, Ode To Billy (sic) Joe, is a northern soul disco version of Bobbie Gentry’s Ode To Billie Joe - and it's really very good. The single was released in 1976. I have no idea why people misspell the name 'Billie' though; the movie also uses the misspelled 'Billy'. Is it more masculine?