Show Dates are Subject to ChangeSHOW DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGEBorn May 28, 1944 in Riverside, California, Billy was named after his father, Bill McCord, who worked as a staff announcer for NBC in New York, where Billy grew up. His mom, Ann Ryan, was one of the Ray Charles Singers on record and TV with Perry Como.Still in his teens, Billy made his first record. One side, My Heart Cries, was popular in the Northeast, while the other side, the self-penned All My Love, saw regional action in Texas and Louisiana.The first song he ever presented to a publisher, Mean Old World, became a chart hit for Ricky Nelson and, one year later, his Make Me Belong To You, was a summer hit for Atlantic Records star Barbara Lewis.This entre to Atlantic caused label chief Jerry Wexler to sign Billy...
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Show Dates are Subject to ChangeSHOW DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGEBorn May 28, 1944 in Riverside, California, Billy was named after his father, Bill McCord, who worked as a staff announcer for NBC in New York, where Billy grew up. His mom, Ann Ryan, was one of the Ray Charles Singers on record and TV with Perry Como.Still in his teens, Billy made his first record. One side, My Heart Cries, was popular in the Northeast, while the other side, the self-penned All My Love, saw regional action in Texas and Louisiana.The first song he ever presented to a publisher, Mean Old World, became a chart hit for Ricky Nelson and, one year later, his Make Me Belong To You, was a summer hit for Atlantic Records star Barbara Lewis.This entre to Atlantic caused label chief Jerry Wexler to sign Billy. The resulting single, a duet with Dionne Warwicks cousin, Judy Clay, was the hit, Storybook Children. The two followed up with Country Girl-City Man and appeared at Harlems Apollo Theater to standing ovations. Billys first solo hit was a cover of Bobby Goldsboros With Pen In Hand, arranged by the late Arif Mardin and supervised by Wexler. But the late 60s were changing times and Billy couldnt find a way to fit in musically.Artists who have recorded Billy Vera songs include Bonnie Raitt, Robert Plant, Fats Domino, the Shirelles, Tom Jones, Freda Payne and Little Milton. Etta James recorded and Jerry Wexler produced, Youve Got Me, a tune Billy did in the Willie Nelson starring, Baja Oklahoma.Television has been good to Billy. Hes sung the theme songs to the hit series King Of Queens and Empty Nest and his tunes have been used in many shows. An appearance on the NBC show Hit Me Baby One More Time resulted in renewed interest in Billy Vera and sell-out crowds at his appearances.In 2008, Michael Buble recorded Billys song, At This Moment on his album, Crazy Love, which has sold over 8 million copies to date.In January 2016 Billys dream album, BILLY VERA: BIG BAND JAZZ was released on Varese-Sarabande Records. The album is a tribute to the great black songwriters of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Buddy Johnson. This past year in April 2019, Billy released his newest album TIMELESS, now available wherever fine music is sold. Currently, Billy resides in Los Angeles where he is continuing to write music and books after the success of his memoir Harlem to Hollywood (Backbeat Books) and the just recently published Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story (BMG Books).
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