 Biography
Best-known
for his pop/rock hit "Down in the Boondocks," Billy
Joe Royal had a long career that saw him shifting his attentions
toward country music in the '80s. Although he never had another
hit as large as "Down in the Boondocks," he racked up
a number of successful country singles over the course of the
1980s.
Royal was born into a family of musical entertainers in
Valdosta, Georgia, and debuted on his uncle's radio show at the
age of 11. The following year, he learned to play steel guitar
and joined the Atlanta Jubilee at age 14, performing with Joe
South, Jerry Reed, and Ray Stevens, among several other artists.
Royal had his own rock band during high school and was regularly
singing around Atlanta by the age of 16. In 1962, he recorded an
independent single which went unnoticed. 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. Royal flew to Atlanta
and recorded "Down in the Boondocks" inside the
studio's septic tank, which had been converted into an echo
chamber.
The demo ended up at Columbia, and they signed Royal to a
six-year deal. The song became his breakthrough single, reaching
number nine on the pop charts and making the vocalist into a
teen idol. Following its success, Royal had a string of lesser
hits, including the Top 40 pop singles "I Knew You
When," "I've Got to Be Somebody" and "Cherry
Hill Park." By the end of the decade, Royal's star waned,
and he became a regular performer in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
He also did a bit of acting on television, in feature films, and
commercials. In 1978, he recorded a cover of "Under the
Boardwalk" and scored a minor hit.
During the early 1980s, Royal worked on establishing himself as
a country artist, but had trouble finding a label. In 1984, he
finally got a break when he recorded Gary Burr's "Burned
Like a Rocket; " it was picked up by Atlantic Records, who
signed Royal to the label. The single became a hit and reached
the country Top Ten in early 1986. For the next two years, he
had a string of Top 40 hits, breaking into the Top 10 in late
1987 with "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow." In 1989,
he released the album Tell It Like Is; the title cut became his
biggest hit, peaking at number two, while the album itself
stayed in the Top 15 for over a year. By 1990, Royal's style of
pop-inflected country had been replaced by neo-traditional
honky-tonk at the top of the charts, and his popularity
declined. He continued to have minor hits into 1992, and toured
throughout the decade. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide
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