Billy Joe Royal

Billy Joe Royal (born 3 April 1942 in Valdosta, Georgia) is an American singer. Raised in Marietta, Georgia, Royal became a local singing sensation in the 1950s and 1960s at the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known for the 1965 top-ten pop hit "Down in the Boondocks", which along with the singles "I Knew You When" (top 20, 1965) and "Hush" (1966) were written and produced by friend Joe South.

Raised in Marietta, Georgia, Royal became a local singing sensation in the 1950s and 1960s at the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known for the 1965 top-ten pop hit "Down in the Boondocks", which along with the singles "I Knew You When" (top 20, 1965) and "Hush" (1966) were written and produced by friend Joe South. His 1969 comeback single "Cherry Hill Park" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. During the 1980s, Billy Joe scored several top 10 country hits including "Tell It Like It Is," "Burned Like a Rocket," and "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow." As his rejuvenated career as a country music hitmaker quieted down, he followed up with bookings throughout the 1990s in large country music bars and became a very-popular act on that circuit.