How Old Is Billy J. Kramer? Billy J. Kramer Birthday
Billy J. Kramer was born on August 12, 1943 and is 80 years old now.
Birthday: August 12, 1943
How Old - Age: 80
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Billy J. Kramer - Biography
Billy J. Kramer (born William Howard Ashton, 19 August 1943 in Bootle, Lancashire, England) is a pop singer. In the 1960s he was managed by Brian Epstein, who also managed the Beatles, and he recorded several original Lennon and McCartney compositions.
With record producer George Martin, the song "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" was a number two UK Singles Chart hit in 1963, (but number one in some charts), and was backed by another tune otherwise unreleased by the Beatles, "I'll Be on My Way". After this impressive breakthrough another Lennon/McCartney pairing, "Bad to Me" c/w "I Call Your Name", reached number one. It sold over a million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. "I'll Keep You Satisfied" ended the year with a respectable number four placing.
Kramer was given a series of songs specially written for him by Lennon and McCartney which launched him into stardom. "I'll Keep You Satisfied", "From a Window", "I Call Your Name" (recorded by The Beatles themselves) and "Bad to Me" earned him appearances on the television programmes, Shindig!, Hullabaloo (hosted by Beatles manager Epstein) and The Ed Sullivan Show. (Kramer had also been offered Lennon/McCartney's "I'm in Love", and recorded a version in October 1963. In the end, it was shelved and the song was instead given to the Fourmost. In the 1990s, a Kramer compilation album included his version, as well as some recording studio banter on which Lennon's voice could be heard).
The Dakotas enjoyed Top 20 success in 1963 on their own with the Mike Maxfield composition "The Cruel Sea", an instrumental retitled "The Cruel Surf" in the US, which was subsequently covered by The Ventures. This was followed by a George Martin creation, "Magic Carpet", in which an echo-laden piano played the melody alongside Maxfield's guitar. But it missed out altogether, and it was a year before their next release. All four tracks appeared on an EP later that year.
In 2013, Kramer provided the introduction to the graphic novel The Fifth Beatle by Vivek Tiwary. The book was released in November and spent several weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, reaching No. 1 in its third week of release. He also released a new album, entitled I Won the Fight.
