Billy Joe Royal

Singer Billy Joe Royal has enjoyed a successful musical career which spans over forty years and encompasses the pop, rock and country music genres. He was born on April 3, 1942 in Valdosta, Georgia and raised in Marietta, Georgia. Royal hails from a family of musical entertainers. Billy Joe made his public debut at age five in a first-grade performance for the PTA and sang on his uncle's radio show at age eleven. At age fourteen Royal learned how to play the steel guitar and joined the Georgia Jubilee. He fronted his own rock band at age sixteen which performed around Atlanta. Read more... In addition, Billy Joe was a local singing sensation at the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah, Georgia in the 50s and early 60s. Royal recorded a single in 1962 that flopped. Billy Joe scored a massive top 10 hit in 1965 with "Down in the Boondocks," which peaked at #9 and turned Royal into a teen idol for a short spell. The follow-up songs "I Knew You When," "I've Got To Be Somebody," and "Cherry Hill Park" all likewise cracked the Billboard top 40. When Royal's career faltered in the late 70s, he became a regular performer in both Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Billy Joe bounced back in the 80s as a country singer; the songs "Burned Like a Rocket," "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow," and "Tell It Like It Is" were all top 10 country chart hits. Royal acts in the Shakespearean rock opera "Catch My Soul," makes an uncredited appearance singing the folk ballad "Mountain Woman" in the bizarre horror picture "A Name for Evil," and narrates the groovy rock documentary "Mondo Daytona." He has also acted in several TV commercials. His signature tune "Down in the Boondocks" is featured on the soundtracks for the films "Glory Road" and "Riding in Cars with Boys." More recently Billy Joe has recorded the albums "Stay Close to Home" and "Now and Then, Then and Now." Moreover, Billy Joe Royal continues to perform on stage in country bars all over the South.