Joe South’s career was too brief and he will be missed. He is best known for the 1965 US Top 10 pop hit 'Down in read more. Born in Valdosta, Georgia, and raised in Marietta, Georgia, Royal became a local star at the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah in the 1950s and 1960s. And on “Don’t It Make You Wanna Go Home,” which he sings with Johnny Cash, June Carter and George Lindsey he picks a Vox Ultrasonic. 6 October 2015 (aged 73) Billy Joe Royal (Ap October 6, 2015) was an American pop and country singer. On “Games People Play” South strums a Coral electric sitar. But we did find two that featured very cool guitars. Over the next few decades he only made rare concert appearances but he didn’t release any music.īecause Joe South’s career as a star performer was very brief, there aren’t many clips of him out there. Amanda Edwards/WireImage/getty images Grace Lee Boggs, a writer. Tommy’s death seemed to extinguish something in Joe’s soul because he started to withdraw from the music world and by the mid-1970s he essentially retired from the music scene. Country and pop singer Billy Joe Royal has died aged 73, multiple reports confirm. Billy Joe Royal, a pop and country star best known for the 1965 hit 'Down in the Boondocks, died October 6 at the age of 73. Tragically, in 1971, his brother Tommy, who played drums in South’s band, committed suicide. His biggest hit under his own name was “Games People Play,” an electric-sitar driven rant against man’s inhumanity to man that earned him two Grammy Awards in 1969. South’s songs were also covered by performers as disparate as Elvis Presley, Deep Purple and Loretta Lynn.Īlong with being a talented guitarist, South was a fine singer who had a rich, soulful voice with more than a hint of country twang.

He also wrote “Down in the Boondocks,” which was a hit for Billy Joe Royal in 1965. His best known song was “(I never Promised You A) Rose Garden,” which he sang on his 1969 LP Introspect and later became a massive international hit when it was covered by Lynn Anderson in 1970. His first record was 1958’s “The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor,” a novelty song that he performed with more gusto and verve than the song perhaps deserved. Veteran country and pop performer Billy Joe Royal passed away in his sleep unexpectedly earlier today (Oct. Billy Joe Royal: May 8, 1981: The Miracles: Releases Albums. Billy Joe Royal photographed in Atlanta on June 3, 1980. The most recent obituary and service information is available at the Miller Funeral Service, Inc.

Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of Billy in the Guest Book below. South was also a talented songwriter and performer. Died OctoCountry United States Comments Pop & country singer Meta. Billy Royal's passing on Monday, Mahas been publicly announced by Miller Funeral Service, Inc. Over the years he made a name for himself as a studio guitarist and appeared on classic records like Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools,” as well as playing with legends like Eddy Arnold and Wilson Pickett. South was an amazing guitarist who got his start in the mid-1950s playing in the band of pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake.

We were very sad to learn of Joe South’s death from a heart attack on September 5, 2012.

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