Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (aka Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas) was a … Read Full Bio ↴Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (aka Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas) was a British pop band led by Billy J. Kramer back by The Dakotas. The singer and the band parted company in 1966, both continuing separately.

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.

Dance With Me
Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I see you standing there
Your pretty face and your I don't care
Think you're too good for me
Baby you can't see
Threw this dusty truck,
Paper towels and a dixie cup
This is what you need
Take a ride with me

I'm gonna take you down by the creek bank
If we're lucky that cork might sink
Baby what do you think

Come on baby hop in my truck if you've got nowhere to go
Take a ride around this town get lost on back roads
Looking at me baby I know it's hard to see
I know that you'll change your mind
If you take a little ride with me

I see a woman like you
And wonder what did I do to make you fall in love
Be the man you're dreaming of
If there's anything there
And you ain't scared
I'm gonna pick you up In my dirty truck
I'm going to take you down by the creek bank
Toss a line and play some hank, might even take a drink

Come on baby hop in my truck if you've got nowhere to go
Take a ride around this town get lost on back roads
Looking at me baby I know it's hard to see
I know that you'll change your mind
If you take a little ride with me

Come on baby hop in my truck if you've got nowhere to go
Take a ride around this town get lost on back roads
Looking at me baby I know it's hard to see
I know that you'll change your mind

Come on baby hop in my truck if you've got nowhere to go
Take a ride around this town get lost on back roads
Looking at me baby I know it's hard to see
I know that you'll change your mind

I know that you'll change your mind
If you take a little ride with me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Dance With Me" by Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas depict a person who has built high hopes and ambitions, but never expected to find love. The first stanza "I've built my hopes on mountains high, There was no ceiling to my sky" suggests that the person has set their goals and aspirations high, and nothing seemed impossible to achieve. However, the person never imagined that someone could love them back. The line "But I never dreamt you'd fall in love with me" shows that the person is surprised that they have found love.

The second stanza talks about the person's dreams of success and fulfillment. The line "I dreamt my dream ships all came home" suggests that everything they wished for has come true. The line "But I never dreamt you'd fall in love with me" is repeated to emphasize the person's disbelief that they have found love. The third stanza expresses the person's realization that they did not expect love to be so fulfilling and essential in their life. The line "Little did I dream that love could ever be so nice" shows that the person has found something greater than their dreams of success.

In conclusion, the lyrics of "Dance With Me" portray a person with high hopes and ambitions who never expected to find love. The unexpected turn of events has made the person realize that love can be more fulfilling than their dreams of success. The repeated line "But I never dreamt you'd fall in love with me" expresses the person's surprise and disbelief that they are lucky enough to experience love.

Line by Line Meaning

I've built my hopes
I had great expectations

On mountains high
They were huge and towering hopes

There was no ceiling
I believed that there were no limits to what I can achieve

To my sky
To my dreams and aspirations

But I never dreamt
I never expected

You'd fall in love
That you would love me

With me
With who I am

I dreamt my dream ships
I imagined all my dreams coming true

All came home
They all became a reality

All safe and sound
Everything was perfect

Across the phone
Through a message or communication