![]() ![]() The demo ended up at Columbia, and the label signed Royal to a six-year deal. Royal flew from Cincinnati (where he was working at the time) to Atlanta and cut “Down in the Boondocks,” whose churchy echo resulted from the use during recording of a large septic tank that had been dragged into the studio. Royal and South roomed together for a time, and two or three years later South contacted him with a song he wanted Royal to sing as a demo, in the hope that Gene Pitney would record it. In 1962, he recorded an independent single that went unnoticed. Performing at a nightclub that also booked Sam Cooke and other African-American stars, Royal observed their vocal moves and began to practice them on his own time. He also spent time in Savannah, where he was influenced by African-American vocal styles and began to develop his distinctive vocal sound. Royal had his own rock & roll band in high school and was regularly singing around Atlanta by the age of 16. He is survived by his ex-wife, Michelle Royal, with whom he was still close, daughter Savannah Royal, and two stepsons, Trey and Joey Riverbank. Funeral arrangements will be announced this week. He learned to play steel guitar and joined the Georgia Jubilee in Atlanta at 14, performing with Joe South, Jerry Reed, and Ray Stevens, among several other artists. Royal had planned to spend some time off the road in the coming weeks in order to spend time with his daughter, a student at NC State University. 24, 2015 at the Gwinnett County Fair in Georgia, the state in which he was raised and where he discovered his love of music. His final live performance was 12 days before his passing on Sept. Royal’s soulful voice was still in fine form, and he continued to tour in recent years. ![]() He followed “Rocket” with several country hits including “I’ll Pin a Note on Your Pillow,” “Tell It Like It Is,” and “Till I Can’t Take It Anymore.” He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1988. Royal would also find success with his follow-up single: another South-penned song, called “I Knew You When.”ĭuring the mid-1980s, his career was revitalized when he signed with Atlantic Records and began releasing country songs. In late 1985, Royal notched his first Top 10 country single with “Burned Like a Rocket,” though the song was reportedly pulled from the radio after the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy of January 1986. Royal’s 1965 breakout single, “Down in the Boondocks,” which peaked at No. It was fellow Georgian Joe South who penned Mr. Octo– Singer Billy Joe Royal, best known for his pop hit “Down in the Boondocks” and a string of country singles in the 1980s,was born Apin Valdosta, Georgia.Īs a young man he performed on the radio program “Georgia Jubilee,” which is where he met artists like Jerry Reed and Joe South. ![]()
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