Robert John, the crooner behind “Sad Eyes” who scored his first hit when he was just 12, has died aged 79.
John proved to be an enduring presence in popular music through the Sixties and Seventies, scoring further hits with “If You Don’t Want My Love” (1968), “When the Party’s Over” (1970) and “Hushabye” (1972).
This success wasn’t enough to satisfy his record companies, however, prompting him to temporarily drop out of music: “[Atlantic Records] didn’t have enough faith to let me do an album,” John told Rolling Stone at the time.
After “Sad Eyes”, John had two more modest hits with “Lonely Eyes” and “Hey There Lonely Girl”, both in 1980.
Singer-songwriter scored his first hit aged 12, and was known for hits such as ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ and ‘If You Don’t Want My Love’.
