Billy J. Kramer

Billy J. Kramer
Kramer, 1965
Background information
Birth name	William Howard Ashton
Born	(1943-08-19) 19 August 1943 (age 80) Bootle, Lancashire, England
Origin	Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Genres	Pop, Merseybeat, British rock and roll
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Parlophone, Imperial
Website	billyjkramermusic.com

William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions never recorded by the Beatles, among them the UK number one "Bad to Me" (1963). Kramer and the Dakotas had a further UK chart-topper in 1964 with "Little Children" and achieved U.S. success as part of the British Invasion. Since the end of the beat boom, Kramer has continued to record and perform. His autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret, was published in 2016.