Billy Joe Royal Featuring Hush
by Billy Joe Royal

This isn't a great album, but it's a noteworthy one, due to the fact that it contains three songs that would later become big hits for other artists, all of them written by Royal's friend, Joe South. First, Deep Purple would take "Hush" to #4 the following year. Then, a couple years later, Lynn Anderson's version of "Rose Garden" would hit #3 and The Osmonds would take their version of "Yo Yo" to #3 in 1971.

Royal's original version of "Hush" only got as high as #52 on the Billboard singles chart. And the album produced one other low-charting single, the fun but formulaic Motown mimicry of "Heart's Desire", which peaked at #88. The rest of this set isn't bad, particularly if you're a fan of that mid-60's pop flavor. Among the mostly South-penned tunes, failed single "High on a Hilltop" is a Drifters-esque highlight. Speaking of The Drifters, the perfunctory version here of "Save the Last Dance for Me" doesn't distinguish itself from the other half a million versions of that tune we've all heard already. But that quibble aside, this is a stronger-than-average pop album with greater-than-average historical value.