Do You Want to Know a Secret?: The Autobiography of Billy J. Kramer(Studies in Popular Music)

When Billy J. Kramer's record of Lennon and McCartney's "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" topped the New Musical Express charts in 1963, he became the first singer in the world to have a number one hit with a Beatles song, apart from the Fab Four themselves. This success propelled the teenage Kramer into the fast lane, and he followed it with another five top twenty singles within the space of two years. In this autobiography Billy J. Kramer (born William Ashton) tells his rags to riches story, from his working class childhood in Liverpool, via a British Rail engineering apprenticeship in the dying days of steam, to the racy world of international pop music. Managed by Brian Epstein, produced by George Martin, engineered by Hurricane Smith, and friend, confidante and colleague of the Beatles, Kramer gives a definitive insider's account of the birth of the Liverpool sound and also the "British Invasion" of the US. We follow him to the Star Club in Hamburg, to Abbey Road, into the BBC studios, and onto package tours and stage shows with the Beatles, Cilla Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Tommy Quickly and other stars of the age. He shares a dressing room with James Brown, and appears alongside other 1960s giants of the American music business. Kramer also brilliantly evokes the world of variety, as he goes behind the scenes with comedian Tommy Cooper, and learns about the stagecraft of artistes from another era. On the surface, Kramer's career seems like a dream come true, but there are dark secrets in the Kramer story. Even before he'd reached his twenties, he was already in the grip of drugs and alcohol, and there were constant tensions between him and his Mancunian backing band, The Dakotas. When the screaming stopped, he reinvented himself as a cabaret performer, and some of his best records were made during the years he was out of the limelight. He brought up a young family, but the drink and pills made his domestic life, and eventually his professional life, a struggle. In this no-holds-barred account of his life, Kramer evokes the vibrancy of the sixties and reveals how he exorcised his demons and forged a new career in the US. He assembles his current band, shows a growing mastery of songwriting and recording, and returns to national tours, keeping the flame of the Mersey sound alive. The lifetime of experience he brings to his new songs infuses every page of this enthralling read.

Table of Contents:
Preliminaries Acknowledgements [+] ix Billy J. Kramer FREE Foreword [+] xi-xiii Billy J. Kramer FREE Chapter 1 Little Children - 1943-1958 [+] 1-15 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 2 I'll Be on My Way - 1958-1962 [+] 16-29 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 3 Silver Dream - 1963-1964 [+] 30-56 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 4 We're Doing Fine - 1963-1964 (part 2) [+] 57-69 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 5 It's Gotta Last Forever - 1964-1966 [+] 70-87 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 6 You Make Me Feel Like Someone - 1966-1967 [+] 88-105 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 7 Twilight Time - 1967-1970 [+] 106-119 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 8 Gone Away - 1970-1971 [+] 120-124 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 9 You Can't Live on Memories - 1972-1983 [+] 125-140 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 10 I Won the Fight -1984-2006 [+] 141-155 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 Chapter 11 To Liverpool with Love - from 2006 [+] 156-169 Billy J. Kramer GBP17.50 End Matter Notes [+] 170-172 Billy J. Kramer FREE Recordings List [+] 173-177 Billy J. Kramer

About the Author :
Billy J. 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. Born in Liverpool he now lives in the United States. Alyn Shipton has co-authored many musicians' biographies, including most recently, that of chart topping jazz bandleader Chris Barber. His life of singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson won the 2014 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for pop biography.

Review :
In a neatly presented hardback illustrated throughout Kramer and his co-writer Alyn Shipton... tell the story of a Liverpool railwayman who became a leading figure in Mersey mania. ;The Beat He was the most handsome man on stage, and well-dressed too. ; Ringo Starr