Singer-songwriter Robert John, who topped the Billboard charts in 1979 with the moody ballad, “Sad Eyes,” died Feb 24. He was 79.
The crooner’s son, Michael Pedrick, confirmed his father’s death to Rolling Stone. No cause of death was given, but Pedrick told the website that John was still recovering from a stroke he suffered several years ago.
John was born Robert John Pedrick Jr. on Jan. 3, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York. He scored his first hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 as a 12-year-old in 1958 with “White Bucks and Saddle Shoes.” The song reached No. 74.
Robert John, Beloved ‘Sad Eyes’ Crooner, Dies at 79https://t.co/YakKn1xo13
— billboard (@billboard) February 25, 2025
In 1965 he changed his name, and in 1972 his version of Tokens’ 1961 classic, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” went to No. 3 on the charts, Billboard reported. John’s song also reached No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary Songs chart in 1972, according to the music news website.
John’s signature hit, “Sad Eyes,” entered Billboard’s Hot 100 on May 19, 1979, Rolling Stone reported. It took 20 weeks before the song knocked the Knack’s “My Sharona” out of the No. 1 spot in October 1979, according to the website.
“I look at the charts and see my name, but I still have trouble believing it’s really me,” John told Rolling Stone in 1979. “I didn’t think the song would be the first single from the album. It’s a ballad and I thought the company was crazy to release it.”
John and songwriter Michael Gately would write songs for Lou Rawls, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Bobby Vinton, Rolling Stone reported. He also worked as a background vocalist for artists including Al Kooper and Smokey Robinson.
John was working for a construction company in New Jersey in 1978 when he reconnected with producer George Tobin, whom he met during the late 1960s. That was when John wrote “Sad Eyes.”
The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal by a male artist but lost to Billy Joel’s “52nd Street.”
John’s career stretched through the 1980s. His last album, “Back on the Street,” was released in 1980, Billboard reported.
During his career, John had 10 songs crack the Hot 100 chart and five were hits on the adult contemporary charts, according to Billboard.
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