William Oliver Swofford, known professionally as Oliver, was born on February 22, 1945, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He began his musical journey as a singer while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and gained initial fame as part of two popular music groups: The Virginians and later The Good Earth. His breakthrough came with the release of "Good Morning Starshine" from the musical Hair, which reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1969 and sold over 1 million copies, earning him a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. Later that year, his softer ballad "Jean", the theme from the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 1 on the Easy Listening chart, also selling over 1 million copies. Oliver's subsequent singles included covers such as "Sunday Mornin'" (1969) and "Angelica" (1969), though they achieved more modest success. His cover of "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot was his last single to enter the pop music charts in 1971. In 1984, Oliver recorded his final album In Our Time, which was posthumously released in 2005 under the title Lonely Days. He passed away on February 12, 2000. Posthumous recognitions include induction into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
