23/02/2023
February 22, 1945, William Oliver Swofford, known professionally as Oliver, was born in North Wilkesboro, NC, (Wilkes County). Oliver, was a pop singer, best known for his 1969 song "Good Morning Starshine" from the musical Hair as well as "Jean" (the theme from the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).(February 22, 1945 – February 12, 2000).
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Oliver was a recipient of the prestigious Morehead Scholarship and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 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.
In 1969, his up tempo single titled "Good Morning Starshine" from the pop/rock musical Hair, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. a month later.
Later that fall, a softer, ballad single titled "Jean" (the theme from the Oscar-winning film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) bested his previous effort by one, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening 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 television variety shows and specials in the late 1960s, including The Ed Sullivan Show, helped both songs.
Despite his vocal and songwriting talents, Swofford was unable to sustain further success on the charts. 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. 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 titled "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 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
IN 1983, People magazine ran a feature article on Swofford, describing him as a happily married father who kept his distance from the music industry.
He worked at a major American pharmaceutical company where he quickly rose through the ranks to a director-level position and responsible for one of its major cardio drugs. He was so successful in this role that after his death, the company created the "Bill Swofford Leadership Award", which it still awards today to his highest performing leader.
During the last ten years of his life, he served as President of the American Heart Association in North Louisiana; He served as music director for several churches in Shreveport and from time to time performed as "Oliver" for various fundraisers. He maintained a rigorous schedule until six weeks before he died.
For a number of years in the mid-1990s, Oliver was treated for Sjögren syndrome, before being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. By the time that disease was confirmed, it had spread throughout his body, giving little hope of a full remission.
In 1999, his brother John donated his bone marrow for a transplant to try to save Bill's life. However, he died ten months later on February 12, 2000, at LSU Hospital in Shreveport, ten days shy of his 55th birthday. He is buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.
On July 7, 2009, the 40th anniversary of Swofford's hit-making success, his home town of North Wilkesboro held musical tribute in honor. The festival was appropriately named "OliverFest".
Oliver was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010
Oliver, along with his three brothers, Carl Swofford, James "Jim" Swofford, and John Swofford, attended Wilkes Central High School, 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 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later became its athletic director and the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1997.
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The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame is a project of the Wilkes Heritage Museum and Old Wilkes, Inc., a non-profit organization.
