Jewel Akens, a pop singer who had a 1960s hit with "The Birds and the Bees," has died in Southern California at age 79.

His wife, Eddie Mae Akens, tells the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/XmXa83) that Akens died Friday from back surgery complications at an Inglewood hospital.

Akens was in a group called the Turnarounds when they were offered a song that talked about "the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above - and a thing called love."

Other members disliked it, so Akens recorded it solo. The song was No. 3 on Billboard's Top 100 chart in 1965 and was later covered by Dean Martin and others.

Akens never duplicated its success but performed into his 70s.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com