Billy J. Kramer (born William Howard Ashton, 19 August 1943, in Bootle, Liverpool, England) was a British Invasion / Merseybeat singer. He is known today primarily as the singer of various Lennon-McCartney compositions that The Beatles did not use.
The performing name Kramer was chosen at random from a telephone directory. It was John Lennon's suggestion that the "J" be added to the name to further distinguish him by adding a 'tougher edge'. Billy soon came to the attention of Brian Epstein, ever on the look-out for new talent to add to his expanding roster of local artists. Kramer turned professional but his then backing band, The Coasters were less keen, so Epstein sought out the services of a Manchester based band, The Dakotas, a well-respected combo then backing Pete MacLaine.
Even then, The Dakotas would not join Kramer without a recording deal of their own. Once in place, the deal was set and both acts signed to Parlophone under George Martin. Collectively, they were named Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas to keep their own identities within the act. Once the Beatles broke through, the way was paved for a tide of "Merseybeat" and Kramer was offered the chance to cover a song first released by the Beatles on their own debut album, Please Please Me. The track had been allegedly turned down by Shane Fenton (later Alvin Stardust) who was looking for a career reviving hit.
With record producer George Martin, the song "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" was a number two UK Singles Chart hit in 1963, and was backed by another tune otherwise unreleased by The Beatles, "I'll Be on My Way". After this impressive breakthrough another Lennon/McCartney pairing "Bad To Me" c/w "I Call Your Name" reached number one. "I'll Keep You Satisfied" ended the year with a respectable number four placing.
Billy was given a series of songs specially written for him by the John Lennon and Paul McCartney which launched him into stardom and a proper place in the history of Rock and Roll. I'll Keep You Satisfied, From A Window, I Call Your Name and Bad To Me all became international million sellers for Billy, and won him appearances on the TV shows Shindig!, Hullabaloo and The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Dakotas, meanwhile, enjoyed Top 20 success in 1963 on their own with Mike Maxfield's composition "The Cruel Sea", an instrumental retitled "The Cruel Surf" in the U.S., which was subsequently covered by The Ventures. This was followed by a George Martin creation, "Magic Carpet", evoking a dreamy atmosphere with a subtle echo laden piano, playing the melody alongside Maxfield's guitar. But it missed out altogether and it was a year before their next release. All four tracks appeared on a highly-collectable EP later that year.
The three big hits penned by Lennon and McCartney meant that Kramer was always seemingly in the Beatles' shadow, unless he tried something different. Despite being advised against it, he insisted on recording the Stateside chart hit "Little Children" - the lyrics were allegedly about getting his girlfriend's brothers and sisters out of the way so they could make love. It became his second chart topper and biggest hit. It was Kramer's only major hit outside of the UK. In the U.S., this was followed up with "Bad to Me" which reached number nine. Despite this success Kramer went backwards with his second and last UK single of 1964; another Lennon/McCartney cast-off "From A Window", which only became a Top Ten hit.
The year 1965 saw the end for the Merseybeat boom, and the next Kramer single was "It's Gotta Last Forever", which harked back to a ballad approach. In a year where mod-related music from the likes of The Who prevailed, the single missed completely. Kramer's cover of "Trains and Boats and Planes" saw off Anita Harris' cover version only to find itself in direct competition with its composer, Burt Bacharach's effort, which won the day. Kramer's effort still reached a respectable number 12, but was the group's swansong, as all future cuts missed the chart.
The Dakotas ranks were then strengthened by the inclusion of Mick Green, the ex-guitarist with the London band the Pirates who backed Johnny Kidd. This line-up cut a few tracks which were at odds with the balladeer's usual fare. These included a take on "When You Walk in the Room" and "Sneakin' Around". The Dakotas final outing whilst with Kramer was the blues driven "Oyeh!" - but this also flopped.
After releasing "We're Doing Fine", it too missed the charts leaving singer and group to part company. Kramer had a brief solo career which took him eventually to live in America.
The Dakotas re-formed in the late 1980s and recruited vocalist Eddie Mooney and session musician Toni Baker. They still tour and record today. Drummer Pete Hilton joined the band in 1996 replacing Tony Bookbinder and after Mike maxfield sufferred a stroke in 2004 guitarist Alan Clare along. In January 2008 Eddie was asked to replace Rod Allen, the Fortunes frontman who had sadly died in Dec 2007. Another new face now fronts The Dakotas - Paul Rafferty.
In 2005, Kramer recorded the song "Cow Planet" for Sandra Boynton's children's album, Dog Train. A long-time fan of Kramer's, Boynton had sought him out for her project: in 1964, at age 11, she had bought Little Children as the first album she ever owned.
Anything That's Part of You
Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Go to all the places that we went
I seem to search the whole day through
For anything that's part of you
I kept a ribbon from your hair
A breath of perfume lingers there
It helps to cheer me when I'm blue
Oh, how it hurts to miss you so
When I know you don't love me anymore
To go on needing you
Knowing you don't need me
No reason left for me to live
What can I take, what can I give
When I'd give all of someone new
For anything that's part of you?
The lyrics of the song, 'Anything That's Part of You' by Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, talk about a person who is missing and yearning for their lost love. The songwriter speaks of holding onto anything related to the person they love for comfort, such as a note, a ribbon, or even their perfume. The lyrics express the pain of losing someone who was once everything to them, but who no longer feels the same way. Despite knowing that their love is not reciprocated, the songwriter cannot seem to let go and finds themselves searching for anything that reminds them of their past love.
The lyrics delve into the emotions of unrequited love and the despair that goes with it. Loving someone who cannot love you back leaves one feeling helpless and alone. The pain that the songwriter goes through is palpable in the lyrics, and the sense of longing for their past love is tangible. The chorus "Anything that's part of you" emphasizes the depth of their attachment to their lost love and the longing that they feel for even the tiniest memories.
Line by Line Meaning
I memorized the note you sent
I have memorized the message you sent me.
Go to all the places that we went
I visit all the places that we went to together.
I seem to search the whole day through
I spend the whole day searching for anything that reminds me of you.
For anything that's part of you
I look for anything that reminds me of you.
I kept a ribbon from your hair
I have kept a ribbon from your hair as a keepsake.
A breath of perfume lingers there
There is still a faint smell of your perfume on the ribbon.
It helps to cheer me when I'm blue
Having the ribbon to smell helps to lift my spirits when I'm feeling sad.
Anything that's part of you
Anything that reminds me of you helps to comfort me.
Oh, how it hurts to miss you so
It's very painful to miss you so much.
When I know you don't love me anymore
It's even more painful to know that you don't love me anymore.
To go on needing you
It's hard to keep needing you when I know you don't need me.
Knowing you don't need me
It hurts to know that you don't need me anymore.
No reason left for me to live
I feel like there is no reason for me to go on living without you.
What can I take, what can I give
I don't know what I can take or give to fill the void left by losing you.
When I'd give all of someone new
Even if I found someone new, I would still give anything to have you back.
For anything that's part of you?
Is there anything I can hold onto that reminds me of you and eases the pain of losing you?
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DON ROBERTSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind