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Not only were those words shouted by Paul
Revere on his famous midnight ride in 1775, but they were also shouted by every D.J in
America in 1964. And BILLY J. KRAMER was one of the British artists who stormed American
audiences then, and continues to do so.
Born William Howard Ashton, Billy grew up in
Liverpool, England, the soon to be mecca of popular music of the 1960's. Upon leaving
school, he became an trainee engineer by day and an aspiring singer by night, performing
under the stage name of Billy Kramer (with "Kramer" chosen at random from the
telephone directory). Billy's performances at local rock clubs around Liverpool soon brought him to
the attention of Brian Epstein. Acknowledging Billy's pop-idol potential, Brian set out to
add Billy to his growing managerial empire, which already included The Beatles and Gerry
and the Pacemakers.
Upon handing Billy a tape of what was to
become the first in a succession of smash hits written especially for him by John Lennon
and Paul McCartney. With this tune, Billy and his back-up group, The Dakotas, claimed the
#1 chart spot in England, toppling the Beatles themselves.
The Lennon & McCartney compositions, "I'll
Keep You Satisfied", "From A Window", "I Call Your Name" and
"Bad To Me" all became international million sellers for Billy, and appearances
on the T.V. shows Shindig!, Hullabaloo and The Ed Sullivan Show secured Billy a place in
Rock and Roll history.
Although Billy greatly appreciated the songs
given to him by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, he decided to follow the chart topping
"Bad To Me" with a song written by American songwriters Mort Schuman and John
Leslie McFarland. Billy's insight proved correct as "Little Children" became his
biggest selling worldwide hit.
Billy's international momentum has continued
through the years with sellout concert appearances and standing ovations. Recently, Billy
coordinated an amazingly successful "British Invasion" concert weekend at Foxwoods Resort Casino featuring himself and some of his contemporaries, which was
broadcast on several public television stations.
Billy always felt that America was the home of
Rock and Roll, and he finally fulfilled a long time dream to move to the United States,
where he presently resides on Long Island, New York with his wife Roni, and their dogs,
Rupert and Bernadette.
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