Contents. Career William Oliver Swofford was born on February 22, 1945, in, to Jack and Helen Swofford. He was a recipient of the prestigious Morehead Scholarship and attended the starting in 1963 and began singing as an undergraduate. He was a member of two popular music groups — The Virginians and, later, The Good Earth — and was then known as Bill Swofford.
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His clean-cut good looks and soaring tenor voice were the perfect vehicle for the uptempo titled ' from the /, which reached No. 3 on the in July 1969, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a by the a month later. Later that fall, a softer, ballad single titled ' (the theme from the -winning ) bested his previous effort by one, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard. Written by poet, 'Jean' also sold over one million copies, garnering Oliver his second gold disc in as many months. Performing both hits on a number of and specials in the late 1960s, including, helped both songs.
Bill 'Oliver' Swofford had more modest commercial success, however, with the cover of ', which peaked at No. 35 in December 1969, and 'Angelica', which stalled at No.
97 four months later. In addition, his cover of 'I Can Remember', the 1968 hit, missed the Hot 100 but climbed into the top 25 of the Billboard Easy Listening chart in the mid summer of 1970. Late that fall, Oliver also had one inspirational recording titled 'Light the Way', composed. Oliver's last single to enter the pop music charts was his 1971 cover of ' by Canadian singer-songwriter. The song 'Bubbled Under' at No. 124 on May 1, 1971 and also reached No. 38 on the Easy Listening chart a few weeks later.
Producer also recorded with, and and as well as his own. As Crewe preferred elaborately orchestrated musical arrangements and Oliver preferred a simpler folk sound, these 'creative differences' led them to part ways in 1971. Resuming the name Bill 'Oliver' Swofford, the singer toured hundreds of college campuses in the eastern and southern United States in 1976 and 1977. He was recorded on numerous albums of his friends including and is credited with guitar, and vocals on several of Steve's albums.
He and Goodman wrote one of the songs together (Jessie's Jig (Rob's Romp, Beth's Bounce)) which was released on the album Jessie's Jig and Other Favorites and dedicated it to their children. His natural talent and vocal range made him one who was called often for recording sessions. Personal life and death Despite his vocal and songwriting talents, Swofford was unable to sustain further success on the charts and, in 1983, magazine ran a feature article on Swofford, describing him as a happily married father who kept his distance from the, selling real estate. Several years later, it was reported that he was working as a business manager in, for a major American pharmaceutical company.
William 'Bill' Oliver Swofford was married twice. His first marriage was to Margaret Hicks Ramspacher, from 1974 to 1988, and he adopted her children, Beth Swofford (CAA Partner & art collector) of New York and Rob Swofford of Austin, Texas. He married Rebecca Jean Alexander in 1991 and moved to Pennsylvania, followed by Shreveport until his death in early 2000.
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Oliver, along with his three brothers, Carl Swofford, James 'Jim' Swofford, and, attended, where they were three sport lettermen playing football and other sports for the Wilkes Central Eagles. He was a member of the 1962 Wilkes Central High School football team which won 11 straight games and the Western North Carolina High School Athletics Association ('WNCHSAA') championship. (At that time, there were two 'state' champions, one for western North Carolina and one (NCHSAA) for the rest of the state.) Bill was on the track team as well until a torn muscle in his leg grounded him from continuing sports and allowed him to focus more on his music. Jim, a lineman, went on to play collegiate football at Duke University. John, who was quarterback for the Eagles, went on to play quarterback for the and later became its athletic director and the commissioner of the in 1997. The singer was plagued with in the mid-1990s for a number of years before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's. His brother John was the donor for a bone marrow transplant in hopes of saving Bill's life in 1999.
Bill died ten months later on February 12, 2000, at Hospital in Shreveport ten days shy of his 55th birthday. He is buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas. In 2009, Ted Brown, a native from Swofford's home town, asked North Carolina legislators to introduce a resolution in the to honor Swofford and his contributions to music. On July 7, 2009, the resolution was passed. On the 40th anniversary of Swofford's hit making success, Brown chaired and directed a musical tribute in honor of Swofford. The festival was appropriately named 'OliverFest'. Bob Crewe and '60's on 6' celebrity disc jockey, served as honorary co-chair(s) with Brown.
Oliver was inducted into the in 2010.