Hello and Goodbye to Johnny Tillotson

Johnny Tillotson (1938-2025) passed away back on April 1 — but that’s kind of a fraught date on which to announce anything, so I figured I’d leave this little tribute to his birthday, which is today. I’m pretty sure I’d have skipped a tribute entirely if it weren’t for the fact that Tillotson was in one of my very favorite movies The Fat Spy (1966). In the film, he portrays the role of one “Dodo”, the comic relief to a couple of Frankie and Annette knockoffs. It had been a couple of years since his last hit record at that point — and two years equals about 20 in the perception of teenage record buyers. But the film was shot in Coral Gables, Florida. Tillotson was from Jacksonville.

But he was a legit teen idol for a while there, if a minor one. His hits included “Poetry in Motion” (#2, 1960), “Without You” (#7, 1961), “It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'” (#3, 1962), “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On” (#17, 1963), and “Talk Back Trembling Lips” (#7, 1964). The arrival of the Beatles bumped the likes of Tillotson off the pop charts, though he did have some country hits after this. He also sang the Gidget theme!

Thanks as always, Eve Golden, for the intel!

For more about show business historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.