Ray Hildebrand of 60s pop duo Paul and Paula, passed away on Friday 18 August in Kansas City at the age of 82.

A statement from his publicist said that Hildebrand died “peacefully” and was surrounded by family.

Born in 1940 in Texas, he met his singing partner Jill Jackson at Howard Payne College.

Performing as Paul & Paula, the pair landed a number of songs which appeared on Billboard’s charts, such as ‘First Quarrell’, ‘Young Lovers’, ‘Something Old’ and ‘First Day Back at School’.

Their best-known hit was the multi-million-selling ‘Hey Paula’. The track was released in 1963 and enjoyed three weeks as No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Paul & Paula released, two albums and a Christmas-themed set, before brining the project to an end in 1965 when Hildebrand wanted to finish university and go in a different musical direction.

The pair remained friends and occasionally joined forces for special gigs.

As a devout Christian, Hildebrand’s solo work reflected his faith. His record Say I Do, is considered a seminal work in the contemporary Christian genre. He went on to team up with Paul Land, performing Christian music under the name Land & Hildebrand.