THE MIKE GORMLEY SHOW Featuring Billy Vera | Grammy Winner, Singer & Songwriter
*In the early days of The Jeremiah Show, Mike Gormley would sit in and host the show. This is one of those interviews. It would eventually lead to The Mike Gormley Show as it is known now. This interview with Billy Vera originally aired on radio in 2021.
About Billy Vera
The first song he ever presented to a publisher, “Mean Old World,” became a chart hit for Ricky Nelson, and, one year later, his “Make Me Belong To You” was a summer hit for Atlantic Records star Barbara Lewis.
Dolly Parton cut Billy’s song, “I Really Got The Feeling,” taking it to #1 on the country charts. This propelled Billy to move to Los Angeles, where in 1979, he formed Billy & the Beaters, which soon became the most talked-about band in town.
Five years later, a phone call from the producer of the sitcom Family Ties changed everything. They wanted to use “At This Moment” in an episode. The public responded, and the song, now reissued on Rhino, vaulted to #1 nationally.
In the interim, Billy had built a side career in acting, appearing in the cult film, “Buckaroo Banzai,” Oliver Stone’s “The Doors,” Blake Edwards’ “Blind Date,” as well as various TV shows like “Alice,” “Wise Guy,” “Baywatch” and a recurring role as Duke on “Beverly Hills, 90210”.
Billy produced the last four albums of his friend, Lou Rawls, taking the great singer back to #1 on the jazz charts and reviving his recording career.
In 2008, Michael Buble recorded Billy’s song, “At This Moment,” on his album Crazy Love, which has sold over 8 million copies.
In January 2016, Billy’s dream album, BILLY VERA: BIG BAND JAZZ, was released on Varese-Sarabande Records. The album is a tribute to the great black songwriters of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Buddy Johnson.
This past year, in April 2019, Billy released his newest album, TIMELESS, now available wherever fine music is sold.
Currently, Billy resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to write music and books after the success of his memoir Harlem to Hollywood (Backbeat Books) and the recently published Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story (BMG Books).
BILLY VERA'S SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.instagram.com/billyvera
https://x.com/billybeater
https://www.facebook.com/billy.vera
The Mike Gormley Show - Please Subscribe & Rate - CLICK HERE
Host - Mike Gormley
Executive Producer - Jeremiah D. Higgins
Senior Sound Engineer | Producer - Graham Palmer | Surprise Studio
Check Out The Back Catalogs of Special Guests
CLICK HERE
To Become a Sponsor of The Mike Gormley Show, CLICK HERE for Media Deck and Rates
THE MIKE GORMLEY SHOW BROUGHT TO YOU BY
evolve entertainment network - www.thejeremiahshow.com
Be sure to check out these evolve entertainment network shows:
The Arwen Lewis Show, The Kimi Kato Show with Jeremiah, The Mike Gormley Show, and
The Jeremiah Show
THE MIKE GORMLEY SHOW FEATURES
Music Connection Magazine - https://www.musicconnection.com/
MUSICARES - MusiCares provides a safety net of critical health and welfare services to the music community - https://musicares.org/
The Mike Gormley Show Radio Broadcast is heard in London, Somerset U.K., New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Los Angeles by Radio Candy Media
MIKE GORMLEY SOCIALS
https://www.facebook.com/mike.gormley.10
https://www.instagram.com/gormster1/
https://www.instagram.com/lapersonaldevelopment/
JEREMIAH D HIGGINS SOCIALS
GRAHAM PALMER’S SOCIALS - On Instagram: Surprise Studio
TJS Opening Theme Music Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
Be In The Know - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE to The Mike Gormley Show Podcast to be alerted to new artist interviews: CLICK HERE
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
