Ode To Billie Joe (Ft Clydie King)

Album: It’s A Blues Thing, Monad B000003J7X, 1995 (1968).

F.l.t.r. Merry Clayton, Alex Brown, Gwen Berry, Clydie King at Newport Jazz Fest on July 7, 1968. From Michigan Daily  (Jul. 13): “Charles is an unequaled musical institution. He closed  his performance with High-Heeled Sneakers [= Hi Heel  Sneakers], bringing the house down 8 times. One highlight of the  remarkable afternoon was the performance of Ode To Billy Joe by  Sister Clara [= Clydie] of the Raelets. The Ode will never  sound the same.”

The Raelette singing this great song is “Sister” Clydie King. The tune first appeared on a bootleggish live CD, It’s A Blues Thing, released in 1995 (cf. Amazon). The concert was in 1968.
The studio version on the compilation CD Clydie King – The Imperial And Minit Years (EMI Europe, 2007; track #18) was probably recorded on an earlier date (February 22, 1968) than the live concert (also from ’68, but precise date unknown). Ray’s ad-libs on the studio version are barely hearable (session notes here).
In the liner notes of her compilation CD Clydie declared that Ray arranged the song for her.