Do You Want to Know a Secret?: The Autobiography of Billy J. Kramer (Studies in Popular Music)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.93 (582 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1781793611 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 200 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-08-16 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
In this autobiography Billy J. Kramer (born William Ashton) tells his rags to riches story, from his working class childhood in Liverpool to the racy world of international pop music. In this no-holds-barred account, Kramer brings to life the vibrancy of the sixties. With a young family, drink and pills made his domestic life, and eventually his professional life, a struggle. He assembles his current band, shows a growing mastery of songwriting, and returns to national tours of Britain and the USA, keeping the flame of the Mersey sound alive. But there are dark secrets in the Kramer story. He then reveals how he exorcised his demons and forged a new career in the United States. When the screaming stopped, he reinvented himself as a cabaret performer, and some of his best records were made in
I had wanted to read the book because of the Beatles connection, but by the time I reached the later chapters, I had come to know Billy and wanted to know what came next for him as well. He is a musical survivor. Kramer and his band The Dakotas have always been an inspiration to me." - Peter Frampton "Seeing and hearing Billy J Kramer in the early days of what became known as the Merseybeat scene was an inspiration to all us teenagers in England. We're fortunate indeed that Billy has given us such a vibrant, colorful, incisive, and fact-filled book." ---Paul Levinson, Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress, paullevinsonspot"In a neatly presented hardback illustrated throughout by b&w photos, Kramer and his co-writer Alyn Shiptontell the story of a Liverpool railwayman who became a leading figure in Mersey mania." --Russell Newmark, The Beat, May 2016 "This book is an easy, we
His life of singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson won the 2014 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for pop biography. Billy J. Born in Liverpool he now lives in the United States. Kramer is a singer, songwriter and bandleader, whose career with The Dakotas took him into the top ten on the British and American charts, including three UK number one hits. Alyn Shipton has co-authored many musicians' biographies, including most recently, that of chart topping jazz bandleader Chris Barber.
"Grateful" according to Paul Larsen. I was thrilled when I read that this book would be coming out as I've always been a huge fan of Billy J.'s and The Dakotas records. I ordered it and was initially disappointed at it being no thicker than a pencil (exaggeration), assuming it was going to be another ego-I-love-myself-so -I'm-writing-this-having-not-much-to-say-but-think-I'm- great-as- I-was a star-so-I-want-your-money. I could not have been more wrong. After reading it. "I really enjoyed this book" according to Diane M. Boisclair. I really enjoyed this book. I was not overly familiar with Billy J Kramer but always like Bad to Me and Little Children. I like reading books about people in the music industry and found this book and his story very interesting.