Billy Vera - The Billy Vera Story - Music & Performance - CD

Jerry Wexler and Frank Sinatra were ardent admirers of Billy Vera the singer-even though he's best known as a writer of pop, R&B and country hits for others. This collection of Billy's best includes his hits Storybook Children; Country Girl-City Man; with Pen in Hand; I Can Take Care of Myself ; his smash at This Moment 16 in all!

Billy Vera has had a long, varied career in R&B that has been somewhat overshadowed by his inaccurate reputation as an '80s one-hit wonder. True, his one smash hit arrived in in 1986 when "At This Moment" shot to the top of the charts thanks to its showcase on the Michael J. Fox-starring sitcom Family Ties, but Vera's career started some 20 years earlier via "Storybook Children," a duet with Judy Clay that climbed into the R&B Top 20 in 1968. After that single, Vera worked steadily in Los Angeles, which is where he eventually formed the Beaters, and after "At This Moment" he continued to work, producing and writing for a variety of artists -- including Bonnie Raitt and Lou Rawls -- in addition to performing with the Beaters and carving out a reputation as a peerless R&B historian. 2011's Billy Vera Story is the first compilation to touch upon each of these eras, beginning with his duets with Clay and then moving through his excellent country-soul before getting to the '80s retro-revivalism. Throughout it all, Vera is an empathetic, effective singer with an excellent ear for material. For anybody who knows Vera's reputation as a historian but none of his music outside of "At This Moment," this is the place to go to discover how deep his love of R&B and soul truly lies. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Performer	Billy Vera
Music genre	Rock
Music subgenre	Pop Rock
Media format	CD
Original release date	2011
Is collectible	Y
Number of tracks	16
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	Storybook Children, Country Girl-City Man, With Pen in Hand, She Ain't Johnnie, I Can Take Care of Myself, Someone Will School You, Someone Will Cool You, At This Moment, I Don't Want Her, Hopeless Romantic, Between Like and Love, If I Were a Magician, Papa Come Quick (Jody & Chico), Room with a View, Ronnie's Song, You Can't Go Home, Let You Get Away
Record label	Rockbeat Records
Composer	VERA BILLY
Songwriter	POP ROCK
Track name	Storybook Children
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N