Billy Vera Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a Peabody Award for Excellence in Radio Broadcasting
• In 2013, he won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for his contributions to the box set "Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles․"
• Made his first record when he was still in his teens, one side featuring "My Heart Cries," which was popular in the North and the other featuring "All My Love," which was popular in the South
• Mean Old World, the first song he ever presented to a publisher, became a chart hit for Ricky Nelson
• Quote: "I dreamed that becoming a famous singer would make the girls come to me so I wouldn't have to work up the courage to approach them․"
• Quote: "I saw the rock 'n roll stars on American Bandstand and assumed I could do it too․ Youth and lack of experience gives you courage․"
• Formed the band Billy & the Beaters in 1979, and they recorded the hit "I Can Take Care Of Myself" in 1981
• His first solo hit was a cover of Bobby Goldsboro's "With Pen In Hand․"
• As a voiceover artist he has advertised such products as Burger King, Honda, Toyota, Mercury and Mervin's
• A music historian, he has helped produce, archive and write liner notes for hundreds of reissued albums