Billie Davis
| Billie Davis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carol Hedges |
| Born |
22 December 1945 Woking, Surrey, England |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1960s |
| Labels | Decca |
| Website | Official Billie Davis website |
Billie Davis (born Carol Hedges, 22 December 1945, Woking, Surrey, England) is an English female singer who had hits in the 1960s, and is best remembered for the UK hit version of the song, "Tell Him" (1963) and "I Want You to Be My Baby" (1968).
Davis' performing name was suggested by the impresario, Robert Stigwood, and was derived from those of blues singer Billie Holiday and the entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. In her teens, Hedges was an engineering secretary before she started her recording career.
After winning a talent contest in which she was backed by Cliff Bennett's band, the Rebel Rousers, she cut some early demo records with the Tornados for record producer Joe Meek. However, her first commercial success, under Stigwood's guidance, was "Will I What", released in August 1962, on which she performed as a foil to Mike Sarne, rather as Wendy Richard had done on Sarne's chart-topping disc, "Come Outside". This reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1962.
In February 1963 Davis had her biggest success with a cover version of The Exciters' "Tell Him". Written by Bert Russell (also known as Bert Berns), this song was covered in the sixties by a number of artists, including Helen Shapiro and Alma Cogan, and was successfully revived in the late 1990s by Vonda Shepard, for the American Fox television program, Ally McBeal. Davis' recording reached number ten in the UK chart, and was followed by "He's The One", which crept into the Top 40 in May 1963.
...
Wikipedia