Month: October 2015

BILLY JOE ROYAL, POP/COUNTRY SINGER, DEAD AT 73

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OBITUARIES

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’60s POP / COUNTRY SINGER BILLY JOE ROYAL DIES AT 73

 By William Grimes | NY TIMES Staff Writer | October 07, 2015

Billy Joe Royal, Singer, Dies at 73; His ‘Down in the Boondocks’ Was a Hit – NYTimes.com

 

Billy Joe Royal, late-1970s.
Billy Joe Royal, late-1970s.

Billy Joe Royal, a pop and country singer best known for his 1965 hit, “Down In The Boondocks,” died Tuesday at his home in Morehead City, N.C., He was 73.

The cause has not been determined, his publicist, Brent Taylor, said, adding that Mr. Royal had performed at a concert as recently as Sept. 24 and had a full touring schedule lined up for the fall.

Mr. Royal, who sang with a tremulous tenor and an intense delivery, had his biggest hits with several songs written and produced by Joe South. The top seller was “Down in the Boondocks,” the bitter lament of a boy from the wrong side of the tracks in love with a rich girl, which reached No. 9 on the pop charts.

“I guess people related to poor people,” Mr. Royal told The Chicago Tribune in 1990. “Once in a while I hear it on the radio, and it still stands up. The song meant everything to my career. I was making about $125 a week before that.”

He hit the charts with two other songs by Mr. South, “Hush” and “I Knew You When,” and ended the decade in the Top 20 with “Cherry Hill Park” (1969). CONT.

MCRFB note: For the rest of this New York Times Billy Joe Royal Obituary article (October 07, 2015), please GO HERE.

William Grimes | Copyright © 2015 New York Times

BILLY JOE ROYAL, 1965
BILLY JOE ROYAL, 1965

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THIS WEEK 50 YEARS AGO: THE HOTTEST HIT IN THE USA!

 NUMBER 1 IN AMERICA ’65 * The Beatles * WEEK OF 10/03 – 10/30/65

ELEVEN WEEKS on the singles chart, “Yesterday” by The Beatles peaked this week at No. 01 (4 weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100, week of October 03 through October 30, 1965. (source: Billboard).

 MCRFB Link: For the previous No. 1 record in the U.S.A. 1965 GO HERE.

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CKLW RADIO: AN ENGINEER’S PHILOSOPHY . . . FEBRUARY 9, 1974

Motor City Radio Flashbacks logo (2015)From the MCRFB NEWS archives: 1974

CKLW Board Engineer Divulges What Makes Good Comradery Running Radio Shows

 

 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Jose H. Llombart, an engineer at one of the nation’s leading radio stations — CKLW-AM in Detroit — offers this personal viewpoint on the job of an engineer at a top 40 music station and his relationship to not only the programming but the air personality he works with.

 

CKLW The BIG 8 (MCRFBa.)DETROIT — One of the most underrated performers in top 40 radio today is the board engineer, also known as a transcription operator. Generally, broadcast people are not aware of the professional excellence and devotion that these men bring to their jobs. An operator actually runs the show, is responsible for all mistakes, controls operations of the on-air board, rides voice and music levels, knows the format and must have a good sense of timing.

The operators at “The Rock” of the Motor City give all they have, which will be borne out by any air personality who ever practiced his craft here.

Announcers rely on their operators for smooth segues, suggestions for lines, and encouragement, as well as criticism. CKLW-AM operators are an integral part of the broadcasting and are responsible for making a new air personality a part of the Big Eight Sound. Every good operator feels that “it takes two” to make a good show . . . and a good rapport between the two major ingredients on the air is necessary to insure that the show “will cook.” 

CKLW-AM’s strong ratings position in Detroit is undisputed and each operator is proud to be a member of the winning team. The Big Eight engineers are marked by their youth and gung-ho attitude; two factors which combine to make CKLW-AM one of the most popular contemporary stations in North America. Most of the air personalities working at the Big Eight never experienced sharing a show with an engineer prior to arriving here.

Now, all of the Big Eight jocks swear by the set up and enjoy the teamwork utilized in producing a highly-rated show. — Jose M. Llombart

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(Information and news source: Billboard; February 9, 1974)

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