Billy Guy
| Billy Guy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Frank Phillips, Jr. |
| Born |
June 20, 1936 Itasca, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 2002 (aged 66) Clark County, Nevada, U.S. |
| Associated acts | The Coasters, Bip and Bop |
Billy Guy (June 20, 1936 – November 5, 2002) was an American singer, best known as a lead singer for the Coasters. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
Born Frank Phillips in Texas, Guy is best known as a member of the Coasters, singing lead on such hits as "Searchin'", "Little Egypt", "Run Red Run", "Wait A Minute", among others. Songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller praised his "marvelous sense of comedy and timing."
Before Guy joined The Coasters in 1955, he was part of a comedy singing duo called "Bip and Bop". One single, "Ding Dong Ding", b/w "Du-Wada-Du", was released on Aladdin Records in 1955. He made a number of solo records during the 1960s and 1970s. He did about a dozen or so solo recordings in 1963 for Double-L Records which later show up on collections as by The Coasters, most notably the albums "Hungry" (Joy #189, 1971, released in the UK) and "It Ain't Sanitary" (Trip #8028, 1973).
He also produced records for others in the late 60s and early 70s, including "Love Won't Wear Off" (Calla Records) in 1968 by J.R. Bailey and a spoken words album by Universal Messengers called "An Experience In The Blackness Of Sound" (Turbo/All Platinum Records) about 1969. Bailey was a former member of The Cadillacs and writing partner of Vernon Harrell (who had replaced Guy as a member of The Coasters in the 1960s on stage only). Guy and Bailey had a record company, GuyJim Records. A single released by C. Alexander And The Natural 3 called "Pay Them No Mind" b/w "Somebody Special" was released on the GuyJim label. Guy released a comedy album on Snake Eyes/All Platinum Records in 1972 called "The Tramp Is Funky".
He produced a double-album by Pearl Box Revue called "Call Me Miss-ter" on Snake Eyes/All Platinum Records, which was a spoken word album with four drag queens, including Dorian Corey. These two records are X-rated material. On his single "The Ugly", b/w "Hug One Another", it states that the songs were from the album "A Little Of This, A Little Of That". In 1977, he appeared, along with Grady Chapman and Jerome Evans, on a recording "Paid The Price" by Michelle Phillips on her album "Victim Of Romance".
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