Comments on: Clean living pays off for Jacksonville’s Johnny Tillotson

By: Charles M De Lettre

Charles M De Lettre — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:56:44 +0000

I had the pleasure of knowing Johnny, when he had been attending my high school- Andrew Jackson here, in the mid tolate fifties. He had his “Dreamy Eyes” out and it was a big hit for him. Some younger fans may not know that he started out in Jacksonvlle on the Toby Dowdy Show
on the old Channel 4 WMBR-TV, our first major station, with a country-western format music/variety show. He did sing with a little sweet singer who was about 11 I believe, along with Jimmy Strickland and his band and Glenn Reeves who later became a promoter/producer here and I believe in Nashville. The 50-60s had a lot of launches of musical stardom thanks to our friends at the “old” Channel 4! cmd 4/26/11

By: Gil

Gil — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:02:42 +0000

I remember Johnny well when stationed in Jax 1956. He sang with a young girl………can’t recall her name, but I do remember her as going on with her talent…………

By: Carol Kienlen

Carol Kienlen — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:47:52 +0000

My Aunt, who just passed away a few weeks ago dated Johnny when she first came to Jacksonville right out of high school. They only dated briefly, but the memories still linger in our family…and especially since her death we all had to rehash those memories. I am glad he is doing well, and often wonder if he ever thinks of my Aunt from time to time…Johnny, if by some miracle you see this…do you remember short little Claudene in Jacksonville, that came from the farm in south Georgia?

Thanks!

By: Tommy Talton

Tommy Talton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:15:10 +0000

It’s great to read about Tillotson and that he is doing well.
At the age of about 5 I was on the Toby Dowdy Show (just clapping my hands to the music).
My father worked for Winn Dixie back then and they were the sponsors of the show.

By: Kathy Jones

Kathy Jones — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:16:53 +0000

This is a good story. Thank you for publishing this. I always liked Johnny Tillotson and I remember when he used to sing on “The Wilburn Brothers Show” from time to time. I always looked forward to seeing him.