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Oliver! (Music)

 Oliver! (Music)
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TVTItem
 Oliver! (Music)
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Oliver! (Music)
 Oliver! (Music)
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Oliver
 Oliver! (Music)
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Oliver, born William Oliver Swofford (22 February 1945 – 12 February 2000), was an American pop singer. He could be described as something of a two-hit wonder. Nowadays, he is mostly remembered as either the guy who brought the Hair song "Good Morning Starshine" onto the pop charts, or the singer of "Jean", the theme to the film adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.Prior to his solo success, Oliver was a member of two popular music groups — The Virginians and, later, The Good Earth — and was then known as Bill Swofford. He became an overnight sensation in the summer of 1969, when his recording of "Good Morning Starshine" reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of that year, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. a month later.That fall, "Jean", a softer, ballad single bested his previous effort by one, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listeningnote now Adult Contemporary chart. Written by poet Rod McKuen, "Jean" also sold over one million copies, garnering Oliver his second gold disc in as many months. Performing both hits on a number of TV variety shows and specials in the late 1960s, including The Ed Sullivan Show, helped both songs.Oliver had more modest commercial success, however, with the cover of "Sunday Mornin'", 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 James & Bobby Purify 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 entitled "Light the Way", composed by Eric Carmen. Oliver's last single to enter the pop music charts was his 1971 cover of "Early Morning Rain" by his personal friend, Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. 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.As producer Bob 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 after the release of his Prism album, the singer toured hundreds of college campuses throughout the United States from the early 70s until the early 1980s. He eventually retired from the music industry in the 1980s after issues with the release of his last album. He was decidedly a people person and took on a job at Merck Pharmaceuticals and enjoyed a tremendously successful career there; however, after just 8 years on the job, he found out he had cancer. His younger brother Johnnote Notable in his own right, especially among US college sports fans, as commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference for 24 years until retiring in June 2021. John took that job after a long run as athletic director at both brothers' alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. stepped up and donated bone marrow and although it appeared to be well accepted, Oliver's health took a turn for the worst in late 1999 and he died of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in February 2000, in Shreveport, LA. He was laid to rest at Laurel Land Cemetary in Dallas.In February 2016, Oliver was given a fan page through Facebook under the name "William.Oliver.Swofford.Fans", with an accompanying YouTube Channel "The William Oliver Swofford Music Channel". The FB page contains a plethora of memorabilia...photos, links to videos including rare footage of TV and concert performances, and information on his life and career. The YouTube Channel is where ALL of his music is being put to video segments using his personal digital masters and photos. You can check out his fan page at URL/www.facebook.com\william.oliver.swofford.fans.
 Oliver! (Music)
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2023-05-02T06:13:05Z
 Oliver! (Music)
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2023-05-02T06:13:05Z
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_14bf8995
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This Is Your Song
 Oliver! (Music) / int_14bf8995
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This Is Your Song: He performed a cover version of the Trope Namer, "Your Song" by Elton John, on Prisms.
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Protest Song
 Oliver! (Music) / int_16d8476f
comment
Protest Song: "Days of Rage" was written by Oliver himself (although later was not happy with that song), and he also did a cover of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth". Both of these are on the Prisms album.
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Face on the Cover
 Oliver! (Music) / int_1f37a427
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Face on the Cover: Each of Oliver's albums feature his face on the cover. On the first two it is especially prominent.
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New Sound Album
 Oliver! (Music) / int_22093e9b
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New Sound Album: Prisms, his first and only album released on United Artists Records, was done in a simpler, folk style.
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Singer-Songwriter
 Oliver! (Music) / int_3fd85249
comment
Singer-Songwriter: About half of Oliver's material was music he wrote himself.
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Downer Ending
 Oliver! (Music) / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: "Angelica" is about the regret the singer feels for not expressing his feelings to the object of his affections. It could be inferred that the titular woman has, in fact, died.
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Renaissance Man
 Oliver! (Music) / int_589661ad
comment
Renaissance Man: Oliver was an outstanding musician, songwriter, arranger, and singer - but he was also a highly accomplished intellectual having read literally thousands of books, and mastered virtually every subject in school - so well that he won the prestigious Morehead Scholarship and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the fully paid award.
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Let's Duet
 Oliver! (Music) / int_59d9cfbd
comment
Let's Duet: His duet with Lesley Gore, "Come Softly to Me". It was released under the names Billy & Sue (with Billy referring to Oliver's first name William and Sue being Lesley Gore's middle name).
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Record Producer
 Oliver! (Music) / int_6053dc28
comment
Record Producer: Bob Crewe produced Oliver's first two albums and their accompanying singles. He was the one who thought the young singer's voice would be perfect for "Good Morning Starshine" and had him record it. The rest, as they say, is history.
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'70s Hair
 Oliver! (Music) / int_629de9ad
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'70s Hair: Oliver sported long shaggy hair and sideburns as were popular during the time of his music career.
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Only One Name
 Oliver! (Music) / int_663f35c0
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Only One Name: Professionally, he was known mostly by his middle name, but he spent the last 10 years of it performing as "Bill Swofford"
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Scooter-Riding Mod
 Oliver! (Music) / int_69634c01
comment
Scooter-Riding Mod: While not exactly a Mod himself, Oliver's early career fashions were very much influenced by them. He often wore jabots and tailored suits. During the 70's he sported a more bluegrass hippy look which was more in alignment with his true style. Later on in life, he was known for a more conservative professional look.
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Translated Cover Version
 Oliver! (Music) / int_76c9393c
comment
Translated Cover Version: He performed Spanish versions of his hits "Good Morning Starshine" and "Jean".
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_82518cf7
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Motor Mouth
 Oliver! (Music) / int_82518cf7
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Motor Mouth: The rhythmic spoken word section of "Sweet Kindness" which could almost be considered rapping. This is what he is saying:
 Oliver! (Music) / int_82518cf7
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_8a205817
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Phrase Salad Lyrics
 Oliver! (Music) / int_8a205817
comment
Phrase Salad Lyrics: "The Arrangement" falls into this. The overall song, in fact, seems out of place amongst the others on the album. It can be rather hard to make sense of its meaning:
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Spoken Word in Music
 Oliver! (Music) / int_8c00118f
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Spoken Word in Music: The outro of "The Arrangement" is Oliver whispering conspiratorially in an Irish brogue.
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Greatest Hits Album
 Oliver! (Music) / int_93851bf1
comment
Greatest Hits Album: A posthumous compilation CD, Good Morning Starshine: The Best of Oliver, was released by Taragon Records in 2005. It is the only place you'll find the majority of the songs that are on it outside of the original vinyl records, and certainly the only way to hear them remastered. To date, none of his studio albums have ever been officially released in either CD or digital format.
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Speech Impediment
 Oliver! (Music) / int_98591d23
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Speech Impediment: He had a slight lisp.
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Silly Love Songs
 Oliver! (Music) / int_a040ed2e
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Silly Love Songs: His earlier albums featured several of these. He wasn't a fan of them, however because he felt they did not have much depth.
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_aa9fcfed
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Embarrassing Middle Name
 Oliver! (Music) / int_aa9fcfed
comment
Embarrassing Middle Name: Ironically, Oliver was embarrassed of his middle name in school, usually whispering it when asked his middle name (Since he was named after his Aunt Olive). He eventually warmed to it when it became what he would be called professionally.
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_ae3d6438
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Deadpan Snarker
 Oliver! (Music) / int_ae3d6438
comment
Deadpan Snarker: He had a talent for deadpan comedy which he would put to use during his live concerts.
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Break-Up Song
 Oliver! (Music) / int_b28a8d0a
comment
Break-Up Song: "If You Go Away" from Again','After All' from Lonely Days, and 'You're Not Gonna Break This Heart Again' from his last album, to name a few". Also, "Now That You're Leaving", a song that he wrote and performed as part of The Good Earth on their 1968 album How Deep Is the Ocean''.
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Brief Accent Imitation
 Oliver! (Music) / int_be6f7ae7
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Brief Accent Imitation: Oliver performs "The Arrangement" in an Irish accent. This is most noticeable during the spoken word section at the end.
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_c237b6b8
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Folk Music
 Oliver! (Music) / int_c237b6b8
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Folk Music
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One-Woman Song
 Oliver! (Music) / int_c4b74656
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One-Woman Song: "Jean", "Angelica", "Anna", "The Picture of Kathleen Dunne"
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_c5249b29
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Nice Guy
 Oliver! (Music) / int_c5249b29
comment
Nice Guy: By all accounts, he was very humble and kind. He would say that he found it amusing when fans were hesitant to approach him as he never succumbed to the "Stay away. I'm a big star" mentality.
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Breakup Breakout
 Oliver! (Music) / int_ca49d764
comment
Breakup Breakout: He achieved far greater success as a solo artist than he ever did in the groups he was previously in.
 Oliver! (Music) / int_ca49d764
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 Oliver! (Music) / int_cff53786
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Cover Version
 Oliver! (Music) / int_cff53786
comment
Cover Version: "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones, "In My Life" by The Beatles, "I Can Remember" by James & Bobby Purify, "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver, "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell, "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot, among others. "Good Morning Starshine" could technically be considered a cover, it being a song from the Broadway musical Hair.
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One-Word Title
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One-Word Title: Again Prisms "Please" "Jean" "Angelica" "Anna"
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Oliver! (Music)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Oliver! (Music)
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Break-Up Song / int_928a1632
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