Episode 174: In Conversation With Billy Vera (Part 2)

Our conversation with author/actor/musician Billy Vera concludes with an episode that touches on so many different aspects of this great man's career.

Billy started his professional career as a songwriter, but soon moved to a higher-profile gig as part of the duo Billy Vera and Judy Clay. After a successful album called "Storybook Children", Billy kicked off a solo career that has spanned decades, starting with 1968's "With Pen in Hand" up to the recent "Timeless" album, released in 2019.

In the mid-1980s, Billy had a number one hit with "At this Moment". In this interview, we discuss in detail his first number one hit, "I Really Got the Feeling", which Dolly Parton took to the top of the charts in 1979.

We also talk about Billy's time on both the small screen and the big screen, including an episode on Brian's favorite TV Drama, "Wiseguy."

Other topics that we cover in this second episode:

• · Compiling his hit album "By Request" for Rhino Records
• · Appearing on 80's Era TV and meeting Dick Clark
• · His appearances on and relationship with Johnny Carson
• · His star on Hollywood Boulevard and Angie Dickinson
• · Working on "Wiseguy" with Stephen J Cannell
• · Starting in acting
• · Pitching an original TV idea to Cannell
• · "Ronnie's Song" and working mob joints in NYC
• · Life and love in NYC at 18
• · Old Money vs New Money
• · Dolly Parton
• · "Timeless" and "Live at Vitello's"
• · The only "real" job he ever worked
• · Reissuing artists like Duke Ellington and Count Basie
• · Meeting and working with Fats Domino and other Doo Wop acts
• · Board of Directors of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation
• · Steaming music and today's DIY reality
• · Music Publishing
• · The story behind the Drifters' hit "Save the Last Dance for Me"
• · The job of a songwriter
• · Voice-over career
• · King of Queens
• · Meeting and working with David Hasselhoff
• · Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story

Thanks to Billy for spending so much time with us and for sharing so many wonderful stories about this career!

You can learn more about Billy's story, his books, and his music at https://billyvera.com/

Follow him on Facebook for the latest info on his gigs and his weekly radio show: https://www.facebook.com/TheRealBillyVera

Treat yourself to music and books by Billy here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=billy+vera&crid=31CGZ21181YET&sprefix=billy+vera%2Caps%2C102&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

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