After success in both the country and pop fields, and hits that stretch from the 60’s to the 90’s, it’s obvious that Billy Joe Royal is doing something right. More than 25 years since “Down In The Boondocks” put Royal on the map, his R&B tinged tenor is still thrilling radio listeners and concert-goers; his tours still display the timelessness of high-powered showmanship and his staying power remains a testimony to what happens when hard work and resilience are combined with natural talent. Well after his pop smashed, at a time when many of his contemporaries had long since faded from view, Royal began making his mark on country music – with six well received albums and more than a dozen hit singles including “I’ll Pin A Note On Your Pillow,” “It Keeps Right On Hurting” and “Tell It Like It Is.” The secret, if it can be called that, lay in sticking with what he knows best. In the face of stylistic evolutions that have changed both pop and country music several times, Billy Joe Royal has remained true to the style that first excited both him and his fans – a combination of influences ranging from hometown country radio shows and black gospel, to Motown and the rest of the 60’s pop explosion – delivered with flair and sincerity. It was that rich musical heritage he carried from clubs to the stages of Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, to concert venues all over the country, and it’s what he still serves up like the master showman he is. To listen to Billy Joe Royal is to hear Vegas polish meet south Georgia soul and a craftsman’s care meet a country boy’s feet.
Location: AMERICA NORTH: USA: Tennessee (TN)
Sound Like: Country