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.
The Going To Bed Book app is a project that I am
thrilled to be a part of.
Being a singer, narrating this was different than anything I had
done in the past, and being a child at heart, a lot more fun.
Although aimed at "Little
Children", The Going To Bed Book hasmass
appealto the
child in all of us.
Working withSandra
Boyntonis a
dream. I first worked with her and the multi- talented Mike
Ford on the Dog Train project after hearing that Sandy had been
an avid fan of mine back in the 60's. We have remained great
friends and when she approached me about narrating some of her
books foriPad
andiPhone
apps, I jumped at the opportunity.
The interactive graphics Loud Crow have created for this project
exceed all expectations and create a dream come true for kids of
all ages.
The collaboration between Sandra Boynton, Mike Ford, Loud Crow
and myself have brought the characters to life. To my delight,
every time I go through the book, I find more and more
unexpected surprises and you will too.
You may even find yourself playing with this on your iPad oriPhonelong
after the kids are asleep. - Billy
http://loudcrow.com/the-going-to-bed-book