Billy J Kramer With The Dakotas - 1963 - The Billy J. Kramer Hits FLAC

Bad To Me/ I Call Your Name/Do You Want To Know A Secret/ I'll Be On My Way



Riding high at the top of the charts after toppling Cilla Black, were yet another act connected to The Beatles. Billy J Kramer with The Dakotas had scored three hits penned by Lennon and McCartney, the most popular being their 1963 number 1, Bad to Me.

Understandably, they decided if they wanted to secure a long-term future, they needed to step out of the shadow of the Fab Four. The fact The Dakotas had also scored a hit with their self-penned instrumental, The Cruel Sea, only backed this belief up. And so the group found themselves doing the unthinkable when they turned down another Lennon and McCartney original, One and One is Two, and opted to record Little Children instead. You have to admire the boldness of Kramer and co, but unfortunately it was as unwise a move as it was brave. If you’re going to try something new in 1964, don’t pick a song by former Elvis collaborators, whose best days were now behind them.

 Little Children is a rickety, sickly sweet slice of old-fashioned pop that not even George Martin could turn to gold. In recent years it has received criticism for its sub-paedophilic undertones. If you ask me, this is harsh. It’s a song written in more innocent times, and is actually about a teenager or young man who’s desperate to cop off with his girlfriend, but her siblings are getting in the way, so he tries to win them over and silence them by offering sweets and money. What I won’t excuse, though, is the fact this is a crap, irritating song, and Bad to Me was much better.

But in the short term, the group’s move proved to be a wise one, as following this final number 1, they released another Lennon and McCartney track, From a Window, which only made it to number 10.

In July, bassist Ray Jones left following an argument with Brian Epstein, which was the first in a series of line-up changes. Music was getting heavier and weirder in the next few years, and Kramer’s softer style, plus a drink problem, meant declining fortunes, so in September 1967, Kramer and The Dakotas went their separate ways.

The Dakotas split a year later, with several members joining Cliff Bennet’s band. They reformed in the 80s, with Eddie Mooney on vocals, and in addition to many appearances on the nostalgia circuit, they worked with comedian Peter Kay on the excellent Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights (2001) and the dire spin-off Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere (2004), with new member Toni Baker co-writing all the music to both series with Kay. Kramer is also a regular on package tours of yesteryear, and in 2016 released his autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Billy J Kramer With The Dakotas - 1964 - I'll Keep You Satisfied FLAC

 I'll Keep You Satisfied/I Know/Dance With Me/It's Up To You




Billy Kramer (real name, William Howard Ashton) was an apprentice fitter for British Rail – He was also the lead singer for a Liverpool group called The Coasters when Brian Epstein spotted them playing at The Cavern. The Coasters did not want to turn professional so Epstein bought Kramer’s contract from his ageing manager Ted Knibbs for the princely sum of £50 and teamed him up with accomplished Manchester band The Dakotas – who included Elkie Brooks’ brother, Tony Mansfield on drums.

Given access to several compositions by Lennon and McCartney (four of the first five singles were written by the duo), most of which were unused by The Beatles themselves, Kramer & The Dakotas embarked on a brief but spectacular career as hit-makers. Do You Want To Know A Secret? was issued on 26 May 1963 after a harrowing recording session where double-tracking and George Martin‘s patchy piano tinkling hid a nervous Billy’s shortcomings, particularly on the falsetto line “I’m in love with you-oooooo”.

 John Lennon provided Bad To Me which went one better than its demanding predecessor when it snatched the top spot from The Searchers in August. Another Beatles-penned hit, I’ll Keep You Satisfied, saw the year out in fine style as did a high placing in the New Musical Express‘ chart survey and its prediction of a golden future for Billy J specifically on the silver screen.

Epstein wanted the group to continue recording Lennon and McCartney compositions because the formula clearly worked. But Kramer had heard a song he intended to record, written by American composers Mort Shuman and John McFarland. He defied Epstein and Little Children became his biggest-selling single ever.

Ray Jones left the group in July 1964 and Macdonald switched to bass allowing the dynamic Mick Green (ex Johnny Kidd & The Pirates) to come in as lead guitarist.

Following the failure of their last few singles, Kramer left The Dakotas in 1967 for an ultimately unsuccessful solo career. After a stint compering the pop show Discotheque he later moved to the United States. From 1973, Kramer toured with a re-formed Dakotas on the oldies-but-goldies circuit. He also recorded a dozen or so solo singles – all without success.