Mississippi group honors fictional man in 'Ode to Billy Joe'

Some Mississippi residents are honoring the memory of the fictional Billy Joe McAllister where — as the 1967 hit song had it — he ended his life when he jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge

GREENWOOD, Miss. -- A group of Mississippi residents gathered on a sleepy, dusty Delta day to remember the fictional Billy Joe McAllister where — as the 1967 hit song had it — he ended his life when he jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge. The Greenwood Commonwealth reported that members of the society calling themselves the June Bugs held a ceremony Thursday and talked about Billy Joe as if they knew him. The group included Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Bill Luckett, an attorney and blues club owner who once ran for Mississippi governor as a Democrat. They unveiled a tombstone at a spot called the Tallahatchie Flats. “Ode to Billy Joe” was written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry, who lived part of her life in Greenwood.