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Billy joe royal please come home for12/23/2023 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. 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. 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. 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. McDowell, a childhood friend, said the two were scheduled to start touring after Thanksgiving. Royal died in his sleep Tuesday in his home in Morehead City, North Carolina, friend and tour partner Ronnie McDowell said. ![]() 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. ![]() Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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