“My best friend, Billy Joe Royal, died this morning. Since then he has toured with other performers from his era, including B.J. His most recent project, “His First Gospel Album,” was released in 2009. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1988. His final chart single was 1992’s “I’m Okay (And Gettin’ Better),” which peaked at number 51 on the Country Airplay chart. His career continued with 14 singles that hit the country charts, including “Tell It Like It Is,” which peaked at number two in 1989. He was poised for a comeback in 1985 with his first release for Atlantic Records, “Burned like a Rocket.” The track was climbing the country singles chart when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, and “radio dropped it like a hot potato,” Royal said in a 2010 interview, according to Billboard. Royal left Columbia to record music on smaller labels in the 1970s before releasing a self-titled album in 1980 with Mercury Records. Subsequent hits included “I Knew You When” and “Cherry Hill Park,” his final top 40 on the pop charts in 1969, according to Billboard. Amanda Edwards/WireImage/getty images Grace Lee Boggs, a writer. His early hits bore traces of pop and R&B, including 1965’s “Down in the Boondocks,” which launched his career, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Top 100. Billy Joe Royal, a pop and country star best known for the 1965 hit 'Down in the Boondocks, died October 6 at the age of 73. The record with which he is most identified continues to be his first big hit, written and produced by his good. Billy Joe Royal died in his sleep in Morehead City, North Carolina, in 2015. There, he became friends with Roy Orbison and learned from guest performers at the club, including Sam Cooke, Fats Domino and The Isley Brothers, according to his biography. Billy Joe Royal had several pop hits in the 60s, some of which were written and produced by a good friend who had a few hits of his own as a performer. He performed on local radio shows before moving to Savannah to perform with the house band at the Bamboo Ranch. Royal was born in 1942 in Valdosta, Georgia, and raised north of Atlanta. There was “never a nicer guy on the planet than Billy,” he said. He is best known for the 1965 US Top 10 pop hit 'Down in the Boondocks', which. Born in Valdosta, Georgia, and raised in Marietta, Georgia, Royal became a local star at the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah in the 1950s and 1960s. McDowell, a childhood friend, said the two were scheduled to start touring after Thanksgiving. 6 October 2015 (aged 73) Billy Joe Royal (Ap October 6, 2015) was an American pop and country singer. Royal died in his sleep Tuesday in his home in Morehead City, North Carolina, friend and tour partner Ronnie McDowell said. Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog.(CNN) - Musician Billy Joe Royal, the voice of 1960s pop hits including “Down in the Boondocks” who resurfaced as a country star in the 1980s, died at age 73. Here, Royal performs Joe South’s “Down in the Boondocks” View the entire comment thread. Here, Royal performs Joe South’s “Down in the Boondocks” He died in his sleep on Octoin Morehead City, North Carolina. Royal continued to tour regularly, performing concerts at casinos, music festivals and clubs in Canada, the United States, Japan and throughout Europe. His music was further exposed to younger generations through a movement known as by The Beat Army, an online music forum based on Facebook, which is operated by author and music producer, Paul Collins. In the 1970s, his recording of "Heart's Desire" gained popularity for Northern soul enthusiasts and was regularly played in Northern soul nightclubs.ĭuring the 1980s, Royal scored a successful comeback with several Top 10 country hits, including "Tell It Like It Is," "Burned Like a Rocket" and "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow." Royal's career experienced a major second wind during the 2000s due to regular airplay on oldies radio stations. His 1969 single, "Cherry Hill Park," peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Top 10 hit, "Down in the Boondocks," which, along with the singles "I Knew You When" (Top 20, 1965) and "Hush" (1967), were written and produced by Joe South. Billy Joe Royal was born 80 years ago today.īorn in Valdosta and raised in Marietta, Georgia, Royal became a local star at Savannah's Bamboo Ranch in the 1950s and 1960s.
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