Billy J Kramer - the Michael Bublé of his day with hit after hit

The early songs were quality too and mainly written for him by Lennon & McCartney. Do You Want To Know A Secret?, Bad To Me and I’ll Keep You Satisfied were all massive hits and when he chose a ballad by J. Leslie McFarland and Mort Shuman it flew to number one and broke all records by entering the Billboard Hot 100 at 18, before topping the US chart as well.

That record was Little Children, and he became part of the British Invasion that included The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers and all the others.

Fast forward to 2024 and Billy J is 81 and resident in Illinois with his partner Rose. He told me of his gratitude to manager Brian Epstein who had paired him with his backing group the Dakotas from Manchester, Had arranged recordings with George Martin at Abbey Road and a trip to the US with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show coast to coast. On the current album I Couldn’t Have Done It Without You is his tribute to Brian and was accompanied with a great video looking at events from 1963 and Liverpool sites today.

Billy J is ageless and still in good voice and has a Q&A plus songs in St Charles Illinois this month but promises some UK dates in the new year. Meantime a joyous new single Christmas Kinda Feeling recorded in Nashville is currently climbing the Heritage Chart and is available to stream or download now. The video is an animation from Jeff Perholtz and shows a festive family gathering with Billy J singing with all the right elements of a happy Christmas.