Biography of Johnny Tillotson

A second-tier teen idol in the late '50s and early '60s, Johnny Tillotson was unusual for the genre in that he wrote a few of his hits and displayed a strong inclination toward straight country material. His most well-remembered songs, though, were delivered with a not-so-great voice in a soft pop/rock manner that emphasized the pop half of the equation and epitomized the blandness of the teen idol style. He had 14 Top 40 pop hits, the biggest and best being "Poetry in Motion" (number two, 1960) and the most country-ish, "It Keeps Right on a-Hurtin'" (number three, 1962). Tillotson's final Top 40 hit was in 1965, with "Heartaches by the Number." ~ Richie Unterberger