Died On This Date (October 6, 2015) Billy Joe Royal / Had Several Pop & Country Hits

Billy Joe Royal
April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015

Billy-Joe-RoyalBorn and raised in Georgia, Billy Joe Royal was a pop and country singer who had a string of hits during the ’50s and ’60s and ’80s.  His biggest hit came by way of 1965’s “Down In The Boondocks,” which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and helped define the soft rock sound of its day.  Hits like “I Knew You When,” “Hush,” and “Cherry Hill Park” followed. During the ’70s, Royal experienced a comeback of sorts when his “Heart’s Desire” found fandom along the UK Northern Soul circuit.  During the ’80s, Royal became one of the first pop stars to successfully crossover to country.  He had several Top 10 hits including “I’ll Pin A Note On Your Pillow” and “Tell It Like It Is.”  Billy Joe Royal was 73 when he died in his sleep on October 6, 2015.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

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Died On This Date (September 5, 2012) Joe South / Popular ’70s Singer-Songwriter

Joe South (Born Joseph Souter)
February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012

Joe South was an Atlanta-born singer-songwriter who penned some of the most popular songs of his era.  South was given his first guitar when he was just 11.  A quick learner, he was playing on his local radio station within a year.  Gifted electronically as well, South figured out how to build his own tiny radio station so he could broadcast his songs over the local airwaves.  He apparently mounted it in his car in order to stay one step ahead of the FCC.   In 1958, South scored a minor novelty hit with “The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor,” which generally resurfaces on the radio each year around Halloween.  By the early ’60s, South was making a name for himself as a songwriter.  His songs were either recorded or performed live by the likes of Billy Joe Royal (“Down In The Boondocks”), Gene Vincent (“Gone Gone Gone”), Elvis Presley (“Walk A Mile In My Shoes”), Deep Purple (“Hush”), and Lynn Anderson, who in 1971, scored a huge hit with his “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden.”  The song and record earned them each a Grammy.   In 1968, South released “Games People Play,” a protest song that cracked the Top 15 and earned him two Grammys including Song Of The Year.  The tune, which is one of the most iconic of the late ‘6os/early ‘7os, has been covered by Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton, James Taylor, and Ike & Tina Turner, to name a few.  An in-demand session player as well, South can be heard on, among many others, Aretha Franklin’s “Chain Of Fools”, Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sounds Of Silence,” and throughout Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde album. Joe South was 72 when he died of heart failure on September 5, 2012.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus at Bob Dylan Examiner for the assist.

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Classic Masters (Remastered) - Joe South