WASHINGTON – Singer Billy Joe Royal, best known for the 1960s hit singles “Down in the Boondocks” and “Cherry Hill Park,” has died, multiple sources report. He was 73.
Royal died in his sleep on Tuesday at home in North Carolina, tour partner Ronnie McDowell told CNN. They were schedule to hit the road together again next month.
McDowell told CNN there was “never a nicer guy than Billy. … Now he belongs to the ages.”
Born and raised in Valdosta, Georgia, Royal’s first public performance came at age five; his first musical paycheck was $5 cash, for a New Year’s Eve show that featured a young Gladys Knight, according to his website.
He soon joined the house band at The Bamboo Ranch, in Savannah, working with stars such as Fats Domino, George Jones, The Isley Brothers, Roy Orbison and his idol, Sam Cooke. “We got a chance to meet all these people,” Royal said in his biography, “and then they’d leave town and we’d steal their acts.”
Royal had a few hits on the country charts in the 1970s and 1980s, and toured extensively with B.J. Thomas.
“I say this with all humility,” he said on his website. “The old voice has stood up, you know. I think if I’d ever stopped for four or five years or didn’t sing all the time, it might’ve gone away. It’s like working out with weights.
“The other thing is this is all I’ve ever done. I had to stick to it, ‘cause I’ve never done anything else.”
