By Ray Shasho
Billy J. Kramer, the British Invasion crooner and
Merseybeat legend generally associated with The Dakotas, is on an incessant and
heartfelt crusade to land Brian Epstein into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Brian
Epstein was both Kramer’s friend and manager.
Epstein discovered the debonair Liverpudlian songster and quickly arranged a union between Billy J. Kramer and the Manchester-based band The Dakotas. Both signed separate recording deals with Parlophone Records under producer George Martin. It was John Lennon who suggested that Billy personify a “tougher edge” by adding the “J” to his name.
Epstein had recently launched The Beatles and was determined
to sustain Merseybeat good fortune by asking Kramer to sing Lennon-McCartney cover
tunes. Kramer recorded, “Do You Want to Know a Secret” (#2 UK Singles Chart in
1963) followed by the cover, “I’ll Be on My Way.” The song also reached #2 on
the UK charts behind The Beatles, “From Me to You” for the number one spot.
1963 proved to be a pivotal year as Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas continued to ride the success of Lennon-McCartney penned compositions and scoring big with “Bad to Me” which became their first UK #1 Smash Hit. The following year, the single infiltrated the US charts becoming a Top 10 sensation. It was the first time a Lennon-McCartney penned song reached the Top 40 for an artist other than The Beatles. “Bad to Me” sold over a million units and was awarded gold disc status. The UK B-side was “I Call Your Name”
“I’ll Keep You Satisfied” recorded at Abbey Road Studios
and under the direction of George Martin, reached #4 in the UK and finished at
#30 on the US Charts.
In 1964, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas recorded
“From A Window,” the sixth and final Lennon-McCartney composition suggested to
Kramer. The single reached #10 in the UK.
Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas became a
significant sector that successfully linked to the worldwide musical barrage of
“The British Invasion.” The band earned prestigious bookings on numerous
television shows in America like The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo and Shindig! They
also appeared in the 1964 rocumentary film The
T.A.M.I Show.
Kramer didn’t want to be known as one of those guys
that hung off The Beatles shirt-tails, so he reached out for new material. He
chose a tune penned by Mort Shuman and J. Leslie McFarland entitled, “Little
Children.” The song skyrocketed and
became the biggest hit for Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas. Both “Little
Children” and its flipside “Bad to Me” were huge Top 10 Hits for Kramer in the
U.S. for 1964.
Kramer scored again in 1965 with the Burt Bacharach
& Hal David composition “Trains and Boats and Planes” (#12 Hit) which also
became a huge hit for Dionne Warwick in 1966.
Legendary guitar-hero Mick Green (Johnny Kidd & the Pirates) had
also joined The Dakotas.
In 1967, after the death of their Manager Brian Epstein, The Dakotas and Billy J. Kramer parted ways. Kramer went on to a successful solo career performing at venues around the globe, including British Invasion-themed concerts.
In 1996, The Dakotas reformed with Billy J. Kramer
and toured the UK.
After thirty
years
… Billy J. Kramer will be releasing his long-awaited new CD entitled, I Won the Fight, commemorating the 50th
anniversary of his first hit record. The CD includes the critically-acclaimed
single, “To Liverpool With Love.” The CD is expected to be released sometime in
late March or early April. Pre-sale-Special Limited Edition orders can be
purchased now at http://billyjkramersite.com
On March 3-10, 2013 … Billy J. Kramer, Mark Hudson
(Ringo Starr) and Joey Molland (Badfinger) will set-sail on The Fourth Annual ‘Cruise
for Beatle Fans’ aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure
of the Seas. For more information visit www.musicinmocean.com
I had the pleasure of speaking with Billy J. Kramer recently about his campaign to get Brian Epstein enlisted into the non-performers’ section (Ahmet Ertegun Award) of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Epstein was an entrepreneur, an innovator, and a very important historical figure in the music industry. Epstein was responsible for so many of the Merseybeat/British Invasion bands of the 1960s …including The Beatles, Billy J. Kramer, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, The Remo Four and The Cyrcle.
Billy’s thoughts about the British Invasion… “I always tell people … when I first saw The Beatles they were doing all cover versions, I just think we recycled a lot of American music.”
Here’s my interview with Merseybeat/British Invasion sensation …BILLY J.KRAMER.
Ray
Shasho: Hello Billy …Happy 2013!
Billy
J. Kramer: “Thank you very much Ray!”
Ray
Shasho: You’re calling from New York, do you live out there?
Billy
J. Kramer: “I live in New York most of the time and
live out in Santa Fe, New Mexico some of the time.”
Ray
Shasho: Santa Fe is a beautiful area, have you been out to Roswell?
Billy
J. Kramer: “Of course I have … that’s how I discovered
Santa Fe.”
Ray
Shasho: You’ve got a brand new CD coming out soon?
Billy
J. Kramer: “It should be out late March or
beginning in April. I have a single out at the moment which is on iTunes
called, “To Liverpool With Love.” It’s a song that I wrote and recorded; about
that period in the 60’s mentioning The Beatles and Brian Epstein …it’s that
kind of song. I’ll be launching it all at ‘The Fest’ For Beatles Fans on April
6th in Secaucus, New Jersey and performing these songs live with my
own band. The band lineup is Liberty Devitto on drums, who used to be with
Billy Joel for a long time, Adam Roth on guitars, Muddy Shews on bass, who used
to be with Southside Johnny and Andy Burton on keyboards. They’re fun to play
with and I love them all. It was amazing … these guys have played with a lot of
big names and two years ago I went back to Liverpool with them and they were
just like little kids. It was one of
the most fulfilling gigs in my career to go back there and play with
these people.” www.thefest.com
“This is actually the first time that I made an
album. My albums were …I would sing songs off a piece of paper with the lyrics
and most of the songs that I recorded … I never ever did them live. I’m not
proud of that, this is the first time that I’ve written songs that I really
wanted to do. And I never had the luxury of spending a lot of time in the
studio until now. That’s why it’s called, I
Won The Fight.”
Ray
Shasho: Brian Epstein was so instrumental to your life and of course your music
career. I’m also surprised that he’s not in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; he
probably should have been inducted when The Beatles got in.
Billy
J. Kramer: “Yes… why isn’t Brian Epstein in The Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame? It’s been a whole thing that I’ve tried to push for
quite some time. The man that brought the biggest band to the world… and still
the biggest band in the world is not in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I
think it’s ludicrous. This is a man who pounded the pavements in London and
suffered a lot of rejection, and I think The Beatles could quite easily been overlooked
had it not been for what he did.”
Ray
Shasho: I’m not so sure The Beatles had the discipline to make it without Brian.
Billy
J. Kramer: “I’ll be very honest, coming from
Liverpool at that time; it was very difficult to get any recognition from
London. There were no studios in Liverpool, no TV, radio …there was nothing.
And Brian to me was a great representative and he made it happen. I think he
should get the recognition, it’s like he’s a forgotten man and I think that’s
wrong. Let’s face it; it was the biggest thing that ever happened in Pop music,
The Ed Sullivan Show sparked it… and I think it’s a disgrace.”
Ray
Shasho: I’ve never
put much stock in The Rock and Roll Hall of “Cronyism” anyway … there are so
many legendary artists who haven’t already been elected and many who never
deserved to be there in the first place. Maybe it should be the people who
decides who gets in; after all, we’re the ones who bought the records.
Billy
J. Kramer: “Maybe I’m naive, but I never use to
think it was that kind of thing, but as time went on, I saw people that are in
there that shouldn’t be and others who were totally overlooked. I always
thought that The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should have been something that was
for the fans. You’re right; the fans bought the records, made people stars, so that’s
the way it should have been worked. Too me it’s … what do you consider rock and
roll? Because there are people in there that I don’t consider rock and roll.
Ray
Shasho: Sorry, but I don’t consider The Beastie Boys …Rock and Roll.
Billy
J. Kramer: “Good example… nothing against the guys,
but it’s not Rock and Roll!”
Ray
Shasho: I know so many dedicated music fans and aficionados that know more
about the music than the artists themselves.
Billy
J. Kramer: “I can show you fans that know more
about me than I know about myself.”
Ray
Shasho: (Laughing) It’s the truth …so many of us made music our lives and we
weren’t musicians. We inhaled the music on a daily basis like breathing in the
air.
Billy
J. Kramer: “It’s a whole new world … when I was a
kid; my big thing was to walk a few miles and go to a record store called
Alan’s in Liverpool and pickup my records … that was my thing. To me it’s one
of those things that will stay with me my whole life. It’s something I loved
from the start and still love today.”
Ray
Shasho: Did you play
an instrument and join a rock band when you were in high school?
Billy
J. Kramer: “Yes I did, I had a band with local
friends and we were getting nowhere. So one day they said maybe you should
front the band. I thought, well, it would be a novelty. The first show I did …
I had the guitar on the stand and thought, if I get nervous I’ll pick up the
guitar. I left the guitar in the dressing room and it was stolen. I couldn’t
afford another guitar so that’s how it all started. I never wanted to be the
frontman of a band; I just wanted to play behind somebody else.”
Ray
Shasho: Billy, how were you first discovered as a singer?
Billy
J. Kramer: “I was on the circuit playing the Cavern
Club, the same sort of thing as The Beatles and all the local gigs, and there
was a popularity poll in the Mersey Beat which
was a local paper for the fans. They had a Top 20 poll and I came in third and
was a nonprofessional. Brian Epstein saw me perform at this, and we all had to
perform, and he gave a prize that was a tour of Scotland for the highest
nonprofessional artist which was me. I had to turn it down because of my day
job. I was going to leave Liverpool for a year as part of my training which was
an engineer. Brian stepped in and offered me a contract … something I couldn’t
turn down.”
“The rest is history … I had a number one hit with a
Lennon and McCartney song before they recorded it, “Do You Want to Know a
Secret” and then “Bad To Me” after that …and “I’ll Keep You Satisfied.”
Ray
Shasho: “Bad To Me” was always my favorite; you did an incredible job with that
Lennon and McCartney tune.
Billy
J. Kramer: “Thank you very much … I enjoyed doing
all of them, it was a bit of an ordeal at the time, I was only a young guy and
a bit intimidated by the whole thing. It was a big step from being this blue-collar
worker’s son to working with people like Georg Martin and people on that level.
I read things in books …and in one particular book (I can’t remember which one
it was) it said, Billy J. Kramer was number one with “Bad To Me” and the
Beatles knocked him off by the end of the week. And the truth of the matter is
… I hadn’t even heard the song. I remember that week distinctly because it was
my twentieth birthday and John Lennon came up to me … he was reading the paper
and said, “We just got into the charts in the states and by the way, I’ve got a
song for you.” I said are you going to
play it? He says “No, come to Abbey Road
next time we’re recording.” Brian threw a party for me that night back at the
hotel after the show, so I asked John again … Why don’t you just play it for me
and he said, “No.””
“He finally played it to me at Abbey Road …he sat at
the piano and played me the song. That’s how I got the song. People asked me,
was there a demo… but that’s how I got the song. At the same time …John said to
me, “I want to run a song by you and want your opinion,” it was, “I Want to
Hold Your Hand.” To be in the room with him playing that song was awesome.”
Ray
Shasho: I heard you wanted that song too?
Billy
J. Kramer: “I did …yes. Somebody emailed me a thing
last week where it said that I turned down, “A World Without Love,” but I
didn’t; I never heard the song, only that Peter and Gordon had a hit record
with it. I’m one of these people; I think it would be nice if a lot of this
stuff would be historically correct.”
Ray
Shasho: The Liverpool music scene must have been incredible… and musicians
quickly became a hot commodity, like the Detroit music scene eventually became
in America.
Billy
J. Kramer: “It was a very healthy live scene in
Liverpool; I used to be out five or six nights a week playing at different
places.”
Ray
Shasho: “I chatted with Pete Best last week … such a great guy. What was your
interpretation on the whole Pete Best firing from The Beatles?
Billy
J.Kramer: “I think it’s one of those things that there hasn’t
been an out an out answer. It just seems to me that …me as an onlooker, I saw
Bob Wooler say… Let’s hear it one more
time for John, George, Paul… and when Pete Best walked back on the stage at the
end of the show, young girls just went crazy. It’s something that always
baffled me and I don’t have the answer. I saw The Beatles many-many times and
Pete sounded great. I think they owed it to him to make amends.”
“I’ll be honest with you… on the early records Pete
would have been fine, I don’t know as they progressed, if he would have
progressed. I think Ringo did a great job. The bottom line was, it was their
band and they did what they wanted to do. What we think is history now.”
Ray
Shasho: What was Brian Epstein like?
Billy
J. Kramer: “Brian Epstein was a class act. I don’t
think there’s enough being said about him as a person. It must have been
horrendous for Brian back then being gay while it was illegal. To go through
that for any gay person had to be a nightmare and I have a lot of compassion.
He did a lot for me. He’d come to my shows and never told me that he was going
to come. He’d be there backstage after the show and critique the shows I did,
how I introduced them, the lighting, the way the band played. He was a man for
instance, when my mother died, if he was in Liverpool, he’d see my father and
take him out to dinner. He always sent Christmas cards to my family and always
showed up on my birthday.”
“You know it’s funny enough, like when John Lennon
went on a vacation with Brian and everyone wondered …did they have this thing.
Well, I came to New York with Brian and nobody ever asked me. (Laughing) And I
mean it.”
“I did my thing and Brian did his thing and we’d
meet up and have dinner and that was it.”
“When I went to see Brian we’d go out to dinner,
play cards and hangout. He’d ask me who I thought would be number one on the
charts and he was never too happy when I’d tell him that it wasn’t one of his
acts.”
Ray
Shasho: I studied footage on Brian that I’ve watched over the internet. He
seemed to be extremely cordial and a very personable guy, but I also sensed, as
he spoke with people, he always seemed to have something else on his mind.
Billy
J. Kramer: “You mean he sometimes seemed
preoccupied. I think he had a lot going on. And let’s face it he must have
tried to hide his homosexuality because he got crucified for it. He also had a
lot of responsibilities for all the acts he had. But Brian to me was a great
representative the way he presented himself. I couldn’t see anyone else in
Liverpool going and negotiating with some of these top companies the way he
did. To me rock and roll today is still what it is because of him. The Beatles
did that Shea Stadium thing and that was the start of big outdoor gigs.
Honestly, when I came to America with Brian it was very difficult getting
recognition coming over from England. Brian opened the doors for all of us. He
did a great deal with Ed Sullivan; the best ever …and to me he brought The
Beatles to the world.”
Ray
Shasho: Do you think Brian Epstein intended to end his life or do you feel it
was an accident?
Billy
J. Kramer: “All I know is that I went through a
period where I was more interested in partying than my career and Brian wasn’t
sort of pushing me the way he used to. Then I did this show at The Shakespeare
Theatre in Liverpool and he came to see me, I’d stop drinking and was very
slim. He came and saw the show, was very pleased and said, “I’m going to
America … when I come back, let’s get together and work on a whole new thing.”
He looked better than previous times that I’d seen him. Then I remember that I
got a letter on the Saturday night that I sang, apologizing for not coming, one
of his parents had just died at the time (I think his father passed) and didn’t
like leaving his mother at home. But he said, what we talked about in our
conversation … I’ll see you when I get back. The next thing, I walked over to
the hotel one day … there was no TV in your room back then, you had to go over
to a TV lounge, so I turned the TV on and found out Brian had died.”
“I’ve always thought that maybe he was on prescribed
medication and then he drank. I don’t think he intentionally killed himself …
that’s my opinion. But the press had a field day because it’s Brian Epstein,
The Beatles Manager.”
Ray
Shasho: I’ve talked with a lot of artists who played The Ed Sullivan Show, what
was it like for you?
Billy
J. Kramer: “Believe it or not, I wasn’t aware what
a big deal it was. I think if I had known what a big deal it was I would have
been terrified. We did the soundcheck in the afternoon and I met Ed Sullivan on
the set and he just said, “Here’s… Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas” and we
went into music …and that was it.”
Ray
Shasho: Billy, do you have a good story from back in the British Invasion days?
Billy
J. Kramer: “I was doing a recording session at EMI
and John Lennon came in and said, “Great song.” We had about fifteen minutes
left and just knocked the track down, but don’t know why we never went back and
finished it. I sat at a restaurant a few years ago and suddenly I hear this
song come on over the speakers in the restaurant, and it was me doing this song
with today’s technology, we had done two takes and they edited them. There was
some bantering between me and John… a lot of it they left out, but at one point
he said to me … “You sound like Adam Faith you fool!” (All laughing) But it was
funny hearing that after all those years.”
“John Lennon had tremendous insight. I remember when
The Dakotas employed this new Road Manager and setting the gear up on the stage
and John said to me, “Who’s that Billy?” I said that’s The Dakotas new Road
Manager. John said, “You better get rid of him before he grows on you” and you
know something, awhile later, the guy pulled out after an important tour, at an
important time and left everyone high and dry. Yet, John said that to me after
only one meeting with the guy and it’s always blown me away. John was so
spot-on … on so many things.”
Ray
Shasho: Do still speak with the surviving members of The Beatles?
Billy
J .Kramer: “I see Paul from time to time and he’s
always been cool to me. Maybe if I was a vegetarian I’d see him more often (All
laughing). The last time Ringo played on Long Island, he found out that I lived
down the road and called me up and said, “Come down and see the show.” When he
had his art showing in New York, I went down and hung out with him and had a
chat. Ringo, to me, is a lot of fun. It’s funny, when I went to see him, my
wife walked into the dressing room before me and she’s very short and the first
words out of his mouth were, “Billy …you’ve changed a lot!” But he’s great! When
we spoke he said, “You know, they hate me in Liverpool now.” I’m not sure what
he said to the press or the media but apparently it didn’t go down so well.”
“I liked George Harrison very much too and was blown
away with what he did with The Traveling Wilburys. I remember George taking me
to meet Roy Orbison. I was a big fan and George introduced me to him, I was
just like a little kid. But the last time I talked with George, he was doing a
session with some friends of mine that he was going to produce and I went down.
It was awhile before he died.”
“I had never met Yoko Ono and she got in touch with
me and asked me to write an essay about my relationship with John for a book. I
wrote a short essay and they never changed one word, which really surprised me.”
“I get on really well with Cynthia; we used to hang
out at parties or at a launch of a new album … and I love her dearly.”
Ray
Shasho: What was the origin behind your version of “Trains and
Boats and Planes”?
Billy
J. Kramer: “I heard the song on a TV show. Mick
Green was a great guitar player with The Dakotas at the time and never got the
recognition that he deserved. I was at Mick’s house and watched this Burt
Bacharach Special; we started playing around with the song and realized that we
could do a version of it. We took it to George Martin and just put it together.
We just tried to make a good record out of a beautiful song.”
“In 1968, I also recorded the Harry Nilsson song,
“1941”which a lot of people don’t know.”
Ray
Shasho: Billy, here’s a final question. I ask everyone that I interview this
very same question. If you
had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish to sing or collaborate with anyone form the past
or present who would you choose?
Billy J.
Kramer: “John Lennon.”
Ray
Shasho: Have you recorded with John before?
Billy J.
Kramer: “No, only when he came down with,
“I’m In Love.” I never finished the first version, so I remade it and thought
it would be a tribute to John on the new CD, and did it how I thought it should
be.”
Ray
Shasho: Thank you Billy for being on the call today and
for all the fantastic music throughout the years. We will all be watching out
for the release of the new CD.
Billy J.
Kramer: “I’m very proud of what I did in the 60s and want to get out there
to play the old stuff, the new stuff and continue recording, which is something
that I had not done in a long time.”
“Let’s keep banging on that door to get Brian Epstein into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. …Thanks Ray!”
After
thirty years … Billy J. Kramer will be releasing his
long-awaited new CD entitled, I Won the
Fight, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his first hit
record. The CD -includes the critically-acclaimed single, “To Liverpool With
Love.” The CD is expected to be released sometime in late March or early April.
Pre-sale-Special Limited Edition orders can be purchased now at http://billyjkramersite.com/#/presale/
‘The
Fest’ for Beatles Fans Official site www.thefest.com
The
Cruise for Beatles Fans 2013 official site www.musicinmocean.com
Very special thanks to Steve Petrie for this interview.
Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com -Please support Ray so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
~~Pacific
Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product of the second half of
the 20th century, made in the USA from parts around the world, and within
him is every trend in music, television, politics and culture contributing to
his philosophical and comically analytical reflections collected in his fine
book of memories. I found Check the Gs to be pure
entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my
own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to all, I say if
you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book! It’s a
great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the
history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we
are.
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