The Fleetwoods were a singing trio from Olympia, Washington, United States;… Read Full Bio ↴The Fleetwoods were a singing trio from Olympia, Washington, United States; formed in the late 1950s. They were responsible for the hit song "Come Softly to Me". The song was originally called "Come Softly", and the group was originally named Two Girls and a Guy, but both were changed en route to the song becoming a hit.
Gary Troxel (b. November 28, 1939, Centralia, Washington) and Gretchen Christopher (b. February 29, 1940, Olympia, Washington) were two high school students waiting for Christopher's mother to pick them up after school. They started singing and humming a song together, and liked it enough to ask Christopher's friend and singing partner, Barbara Ellis (b. February 20, 1940, Olympia, Washington), to join them as a trio to perform it.
They performed the song twice at school functions, and their classmates wanted recordings of it so they could learn the song. After six months, they got the track recorded. They sang it a cappella, then dubbed the instrumental accompaniment, consisting only of Latin-styled acoustic guitar and the rhythmic shaking of Troxel's car keys. "Come Softly to Me" was also recorded by Frankie Vaughan and The Kaye Sisters, who had a chart hit in the United Kingdom with the song. The Fleetwoods' version of "Come Softly To Me" can be heard on a portable radio at one point in the 1986 movie, Stand By Me, which was set in Washington state.
Bob Reisdorf, the owner of Dolphin Records (later changed to Dolton Records), was responsible for the changes to the group name and song title. He thought that the title was too risque and not commercial-sounding enough, so he had it changed to "Come Softly to Me". He also thought that the group's original name wasn't commercial-sounding enough. The new name of the group, The Fleetwoods, was based on the telephone exchanges in the areas where the three members lived, Fleetwood2-xxxx and Fleetwood7-xxxx.
The Fleetwoods continued to record into the 1960s, with a number of other successes, although none so big as "Come Softly to Me". Their second hit, "Mr. Blue," was one of the few recordings by a white singing group to make the rhythm & blues chart. The beginning of the end for the group came when Troxel was drafted into the U.S. Navy. Additionally, the British Invasion of the mid 1960s ended the public's taste for sweet, melodic music.
By the late 1970s, Troxel was working in a plywood plant, Ellis was managing a trailer park in Canada, and Christopher was a housewife and modern dance teacher. In 2000, Troxel and his wife Jenifer lost a landmark grandparents' rights case before the Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that under the United States Constitution, non-parents seeking custody or visitation rights of a child against the wishes of the child's parents must prove that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child in refusing custody or visitation.
Gary Troxel (b. November 28, 1939, Centralia, Washington) and Gretchen Christopher (b. February 29, 1940, Olympia, Washington) were two high school students waiting for Christopher's mother to pick them up after school. They started singing and humming a song together, and liked it enough to ask Christopher's friend and singing partner, Barbara Ellis (b. February 20, 1940, Olympia, Washington), to join them as a trio to perform it.
They performed the song twice at school functions, and their classmates wanted recordings of it so they could learn the song. After six months, they got the track recorded. They sang it a cappella, then dubbed the instrumental accompaniment, consisting only of Latin-styled acoustic guitar and the rhythmic shaking of Troxel's car keys. "Come Softly to Me" was also recorded by Frankie Vaughan and The Kaye Sisters, who had a chart hit in the United Kingdom with the song. The Fleetwoods' version of "Come Softly To Me" can be heard on a portable radio at one point in the 1986 movie, Stand By Me, which was set in Washington state.
Bob Reisdorf, the owner of Dolphin Records (later changed to Dolton Records), was responsible for the changes to the group name and song title. He thought that the title was too risque and not commercial-sounding enough, so he had it changed to "Come Softly to Me". He also thought that the group's original name wasn't commercial-sounding enough. The new name of the group, The Fleetwoods, was based on the telephone exchanges in the areas where the three members lived, Fleetwood2-xxxx and Fleetwood7-xxxx.
The Fleetwoods continued to record into the 1960s, with a number of other successes, although none so big as "Come Softly to Me". Their second hit, "Mr. Blue," was one of the few recordings by a white singing group to make the rhythm & blues chart. The beginning of the end for the group came when Troxel was drafted into the U.S. Navy. Additionally, the British Invasion of the mid 1960s ended the public's taste for sweet, melodic music.
By the late 1970s, Troxel was working in a plywood plant, Ellis was managing a trailer park in Canada, and Christopher was a housewife and modern dance teacher. In 2000, Troxel and his wife Jenifer lost a landmark grandparents' rights case before the Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that under the United States Constitution, non-parents seeking custody or visitation rights of a child against the wishes of the child's parents must prove that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child in refusing custody or visitation.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Come Softly To Me - All Their Biggest Hits & 4 Complete Albums 1959 - 1961
The Fleetwoods Lyrics
A Teenager In Love All I know is the way that I feel Whenever you're…
Bye Bye Blackbird No one here can love or understand me Oh, what hard…
Come Go With Me Dom dom dom dom dom Dom be dooby Dom dom dom dom…
Come Softly to Me Mm dooby do, dahm dahm, dahm do dahm ooby do Dahm…
Confidential Confidential as a church at twilight (confidential) Sentimen…
Daddy's Home You're my love you're my angel You're the girl of my…
Days Dwindle By Days dwindle by Dwindle by What do you know? I'm starting…
Great Imposter Well I went and lost her To the great imposter I stood…
I Believe I woke up in the morning I believe I'll dust my…
I Care so Much I care so much (I care so much) Want to feel…
I'm So Alone I been alone All the years So many ways to count the…
Lavender Blue Dilly, dilly, dilly Lavender blue, (lavender blue) dilly, d…
Little Girl Blue I heard a poor girl praying (he heard her praying) I…
Little Miss Sad One Little miss sad one (so sad) Why are you crying? (crying) …
Lonely Cup Of Coffee Just a lonely cup of coffee For a lonely boy tonight Need…
Love Alone Love Like a candle in a windstorm Left me all alone in…
Love Drop I gave her a pearl on a chain for a…
Mr. Blue Our guardian star lost all his glow The day that I…
My Sister's Love (And put like some ring on the guitar or something) (Or…
Once In A While Once in a while Won't you try to give One little thought…
One For My Baby I'm waiting this mornin' I'm waiting for my baby to come…
One Little Star I went walking down the street Very sad and blue Feeling a…
Outside My Window Outside my window You're walking by with someone new (outsid…
Poor Little Girl I heard a poor girl praying (he heard her praying) I…
Runaround I'll never be the one to part You've found a place…
Serenade Of The Bells In the sleepy town of San Juanita There’s a story that…
Skylark Skylark Have you anything to say to me? Won't you tell me…
The Last One to Know I saw a friend as I walked down the street He…
The Three Caballeros We′re three caballeros Three gay caballeros They say we are …
Time Of Love Long, long before the time Time of love You were there …
Tragedy Wind and storm (wah-ooh) Gone's the sun (wah-ooh) >From the …
Truly Do Hey, baby, don't you cry Hey, baby, don't you pass me…
Turtle Dove Don't you see your turtle dove Flying from vine to vine Lo…
Unchained Melody Oh Oh, my love Oh, my love Oh, my love, my darling (oh,…
We Belong Together You're mine and we belong together Yes, we belong together f…
You Mean Everything to Me To me, oh yes, to me You know (you know) I would…