![]() ![]() "It was the greatest place to grow up in the world. "Everybody knew everybody, and everybody liked everybody," he said in the 2010 Journal-Constitution interview. He remembered his time there, before national fame, with fondness. In 2010, he announced he would end his last official tour with a concert in Marietta, not far from the school that once banned him. Stream songs including Down In the Boondocks, Cherry Hill Park and. Royal went on to do well with country songs such as "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow," "Tell It Like It Is" and "'Till I Can't Take It Anymore." Listen to Down In the Boondocks & Other Favorites by Billy Joe Royal on Apple Music. The song had nothing to do with space travel, but given its title, radio stations stopped playing it. It looked like he might have a big hit in 1986 with "Burned Like a Rocket." But just as the song was gaining in popularity, the Challenger space shuttle tragedy occurred. Royal moved back to Georgia and eventually landed in Nashville, where he worked to revive his career. "Kenny Rogers lived down the street from me," Royal recalled, "and Kenny was tearing the world up singing country music. But he noticed that other singers who had pop hits had successfully switched genres. I was getting a divorce," he told the Journal-Constitution. “I’ll Pin a Note on Your Pillow” was another hit in country for Royal.Ī third resurgence occurred for Royal in the 2000’s when his songs were regularly featured on oldies radio stations, and he toured regularly in North American, Europe, and Japan.īilly Joe Royal is survived by his ex-wife Michelle Royal and daughter Savannah.Royal moved to Los Angeles, but his brand of pop music was falling out of favor. His 1987 album The Royal Treatment was eventually certified gold. But Billy Joe persevered, and put together a successful country career throughout the late 80’s. Billy Joe RoyalDown in the Boondocks Originally released 1965.His song “Burned Like a Rocket” was on its way to becoming a big hit in country when the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster struck in January of 1986, and radio programmers pulled the single. Provided to YouTube by Columbia/LegacyDown in the Boondocks Although the sound and the packaging could be a little better, this still is a fine way for collectors to pick up these two records on disc. Billy Joe Royal celebrated his 73rd birthday two months ago on April 3rd, 2015. Royal when out of the way at the time to say he didn’t particularly consider himself country, but he was embraced by the genre nonetheless. Billy Joe Royal's first two albums, Down in the Boondocks and Cherry Hill Park, were combined on this single-CD reissue by Collectables. Rising from the unpretentious background of a Georgia schoolboy, Billy Joe Royal was rubbing elbows with the most popular country and rhythm-and-blues performers of the 1950s by the time he had graduated from high school. It was still songs that hearkened back to the golden age of rock and pop, with a cover of “Tell It Like It Is” being his greatest success, peaking at #2 on the country charts. 'Down in the Boondocks' is a song written by Joe South, and first recorded by American artist Billy Joe Royal as his debut single. Billy Joe Royal, center with members of the Waycross, GA band, Our Gang, circa 1966 Born on April 3, 1942, near Valdosta, GA. Then in the 80’s, Billy Joe Royal made a comeback in the country realm, though his sound didn’t seem to change. He stayed there with songs such as “Hush,” which went on to be recorded by Deep Purple, and “I knew You When.” Royal became known as one of the premier singers in the blue-eyed soul scene, but his career began to fade in the 70’s as the popular styles began to change. But it was the sentiment of the poor kid trying to court a woman of high society in 1965’s “Down in the Boondocks” written by Joe South that put Billy Joe on the popular music map. It started when the singer began playing the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah, GA where he met Roy Orbison, who encouraged him to pursue singing as a career. ![]() According to reports, he passed away quietly in his sleep.īilly Joe Royal began his music career in the pop and rock worlds with some massive singles that have since become standards of the American songbook. The Valdosta, Georgia native and world renown singer was 73-years-old. The “boy from down in the boondocks,” Billy Joe Royal, died on Tuesday, October 6th at his home in Marietta, North Carolina. One of the most revered and recognizable voices in American pop and country music has passed away.
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