Ray Hildebrand Dies: “Paul” Of 1963 Teen Pop Hit Duet ‘Hey Paula’ Was 82

Ray Hildebrand, the singer-songwriter whose duet “Hey Paula” with his friend Jill Jackson under the names Paul & Paula became a million-selling No. 1 hit in 1963, died August 18 of dementia complications at his home in Overland Park, Kansas. He was 82.

His death was announced to The New York Times by his son-in-law Larry Serling.

The song, a tender ballad in which two young lovers trade verses pledging their affections and desire to marry, was something of a 1950s-style teen pop doo-wop holdover that captured a radio-listening audience just before the Beatles-led British Invasion took over the airwaves. The song remains a staple of Golden Oldies fare, and has been used as an era-signifying backdrop in period movies from National Lampoon’s Animal House to modern-day TV series like Halt and Catch Fire. Watch a 1964 performance of the song below.

Written by Hildebrand when he was a college student and originally titled “Paul and Paula” as performed by the then-named duo Jill and Ray, the song (and the duo) underwent a name change to “Hey Paula” (by Paul and Paula) when Mercury Records signed the singing friends to a contract and reissued the record on the Philips label.

Although the duo would record follow-up songs, none of the releases matched the success of “Hey Paula,” and Hildebrand decided fairly early in their musical career that life on the road wasn’t for him. In 1965, during a tour on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars traveling show, Hildebrand abruptly quit the pop business, turning instead to Christian music and a long-held position with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Kansas City, Mo.

He and Jackson remained lifelong friends, and reunited occasionally throughout the decades for oldies shows and nostalgia tours.