If there’s a rock and roll Heaven, you know that’ve got a Heck of a band was a line from the Righteous Brothers song of the same name. In October of 2015, another wonderful singer joined the exclusive rock and roll Heaven, as musician Billy Joe Royal, the clean and piecing voice that gave us the mid-60s pop song “Down in the Boondocks” died at the age of 73.
Billy was a southerner born in Valdosta, Georgia in the year 1942, became friends with Roy Orbison, and eventually hung around all the stars from the music scene, Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers and more. Billy Joe recorded “Down in the Boondocks” in 1965 which launched his career, but most fans forgot that singer Joe South (a lifelong friend) had recorded the song a year earlier.
His other memorable songs were “I Knew You When” and “Cherry Hill Park”. Billy was inducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame in 1988 and will be missed by music lovers of all ages.
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