Robert Charles “Bobby” Goldsboro, best known for his 1968 tearjerker “Honey,” celebrates his 85th birthday today (Jan. 18.) Today, we’re taking a look at his life and career, which includes backing up Roy Orbison and creating his own children’s television show.
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Bobby Goldsboro Got His Start Playing With Roy Orbison
Born in Marianna, Florida, and raised in Dothan, Alabama, Bobby Goldsboro played ukulele and guitar as a preteen. However, despite his later success, music wasn’t exactly Goldsboro’s first love.
“I used to live and breathe baseball,” he told reporter Jim Bickhart in the ’70s. Goldsboro played both pitcher and second base, and dreamed of one day being drafted by the Cleveland Indians. “But I was too small,” he continued, “and I probably wasn’t that good either, you know.”
The same can’t be said for his string-picking skills. Goldsboro joined a band called Spider and The Webbs his senior year of high school, continuing to play semi-professionally while studying business administration at Auburn University. He left after his second year when the Webbs landed a full-time gig as Roy Orbison’s backup band. With the “Oh, Pretty Woman” crooner, they toured both the U.S. and Europe, including a shared billing with the Beatles in England.
Then Came Solo Success
During this time, Bobby Goldsboro linked up with independent producer Jack Gold, who gave him a song to record titled “Molly.” It landed on the lower rungs of the Hot 100 in early 1963. After two less successful follow-ups, Goldsboro convinced his producer to let him record his own material. One of those was 1963’s “See the Funny Little Clown,” which spent 13 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 9.
Over the next few years, Goldsboro managed to score a few Top 40 hits. However, the biggest release of his career would come five years later with 1968’s “Honey.” Written by Bobby Russell, Goldsboro and his team needed just one take to record the heartbreaking ballad about a man mourning his late wife.
“We couldn’t really improve on it, so we called Bobby from the studio and said, ‘We have cut a monster with this song,’” Goldsboro recalled. “Of course I never dreamed it was gonna be as big as it was, but we knew we had a hit with it.”
[RELATED: Grammys Revisited: Which Album Should Have Won Record of the Year in 1969?]
Indeed, “Honey” gave Goldsboro his first No. 1 hit on both the Hot 100 and country singles charts. It also spawned a successful second career in television for the “Summer” crooner. Landing a regular role on The Mike Douglas Show, Goldsboro eventually hosted his own syndicated half-hour series The Bobby Goldsboro Show from 1973 to 1976.
In 1995, he created The Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon, taking on voice acting, script writing, and music solo.
Featured image by John Atashian/Getty Images
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