# Billy Vera
**Billy Vera** (born William McCord, Jr. in 1944) is an American soul and pop singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and music historian, best known for the 1987 number-one hit "At This Moment" and for his 1960s R&B duets with Judy Clay.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and origin | William McCord, Jr., born 1944 in Riverside, California; grew up in New York[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-vera-mn0000077844) • [2](https://billyvera.com/) |
| First hit as a songwriter | "Mean Old World," recorded by Ricky Nelson, 1965[2](https://billyvera.com/) |
| Signature hit | "At This Moment," recorded in 1981 with Billy & the Beaters, reached No. 1 in January 1987 on Rhino after exposure on the sitcom *Family Ties*[2](https://billyvera.com/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-07-ca-1023-story.html) |
| Duets with Judy Clay | "Storybook Children" (1967) and "Country Girl - City Man" (1968) on Atlantic[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-vera-mn0000077844) |
| Songwriting No. 1 | "I Really Got The Feeling," recorded by Dolly Parton, reached No. 1 on the country charts in 1979[2](https://billyvera.com/) |
| Grammy Award | Best Album Notes, 2013, for the Ray Charles box set *Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles*[2](https://billyvera.com/) |
| Reissue work | Has compiled and annotated many CD reissue projects, notably the Legends of Specialty series; his site reports more than 200 reissue albums produced[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-vera-mn0000077844) • [2](https://billyvera.com/) |
## Early life and songwriting
Vera was named after his father, Bill McCord, a staff announcer for NBC in New York, where Billy grew up. His mother, Ann Ryan, sang with the Ray Charles Singers on record and television with [Perry Como](https://www.edgepedia.org/perry-como)[2](https://billyvera.com/). Still in his teens, he made his first record: "My Heart Cries" found an audience in the Northeast, while the self-penned B-side "All My Love" saw regional action in Texas and Louisiana[2](https://billyvera.com/).
His professional career in music began in the early 1960s; by one account he was playing guitar with the band the Resolutions from 1962[4](https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/billy-vera). Through the mid-1960s he wrote for other artists: the first song he ever presented to a publisher, "Mean Old World," became a chart hit for [Ricky Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ricky-nelson), and a year later "Make Me Belong To You" was a summer hit for [Atlantic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-records) singer Barbara Lewis[2](https://billyvera.com/). That connection to Atlantic led label chief [Jerry Wexler](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-wexler) to sign Vera himself[2](https://billyvera.com/) • [5](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/billy-vera/).
## The Judy Clay duets and the Atlantic years
At Atlantic, Vera recorded as an R&B duet with Judy Clay, a cousin of [Dionne Warwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/dionne-warwick). "Storybook Children" (1967) proved a solid hit, as did the 1968 follow-up "Country Girl - City Man," and the pair appeared at Harlem's Apollo Theater to standing ovations[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-vera-mn0000077844) • [2](https://billyvera.com/). Vera's first solo hit was a cover of [Bobby Goldsboro](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-goldsboro)'s "With Pen In Hand," arranged by [Arif Mardin](https://www.edgepedia.org/arif-mardin) and supervised by Wexler[2](https://billyvera.com/). The changing musical climate of the late 1960s left him without a clear place, and the 1970s were lean until Dolly Parton recorded his song "I Really Got The Feeling," taking it to No. 1 on the country charts in 1979[2](https://billyvera.com/).
## Billy & the Beaters and "At This Moment"
The country success propelled a move to Los Angeles, where Vera formed Billy & the Beaters in 1979; the band soon became a fixture of the local club scene[2](https://billyvera.com/). In 1981 the band recorded the chart hit "I Can Take Care Of Myself," written by Vera, for Alfa Records. The follow-up, "At This Moment," only scraped the lower end of the charts before Alfa's Japanese owners shut the label down[2](https://billyvera.com/).
The song's revival came through television. Michael Weithorn, then a supervising producer and writer for NBC's *Family Ties*, caught one of Vera's club sets and chose "At This Moment" for the series[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-07-ca-1023-story.html). Vera has attributed the song's second life to the fit between song and story: the second time it aired, the episode's "boy loses girl" plot matched the lyric[6](https://rockcellarmagazine.com/one-hit-wonder-or-not-billy-vera-at-this-moment-interview/). NBC received more than 9,000 phone calls about the song, which the network described as the most in its history for a song, and radio stations were swamped with requests[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-07-ca-1023-story.html). Reissued on Rhino, the record reached No. 1 nationally in January 1987, roughly 22 years after Vera began writing hits for others[2](https://billyvera.com/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-20-ca-3478-story.html). The compilation *By Request: The Best of Billy Vera and The Beaters*, originally aimed at his [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) audience, became a gold album[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-20-ca-3478-story.html).
## Acting, voice work, and producing
Alongside the music, Vera built an acting career. His first role was as Pinky Carruthers in the cult film *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai*; he later appeared in [Oliver Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-stone)'s *The Doors* and [Blake Edwards](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-edwards)' *Blind Date*, and on television in *Alice*, *Wise Guy*, *Baywatch*, and a recurring role as Duke on *Beverly Hills, 90210*[2](https://billyvera.com/). His radio show, "Billy Vera's Rock'n'Roll Party," led to work as a voiceover artist for brands including [Burger King](https://www.edgepedia.org/burger-king), Honda, Toyota, and Mercury[2](https://billyvera.com/). He also sang theme songs for the television shows *The King of Queens* and *Empty Nest*[8](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621255035).
As a producer, Vera worked on the last four albums of his friend [Lou Rawls](https://www.edgepedia.org/lou-rawls), returning the singer to No. 1 on the jazz charts; Rawls's *At Last*, a Vera production, was Grammy-nominated[2](https://billyvera.com/).
## Music historian and author
Vera has compiled and annotated many CD reissue projects, notably the Legends of Specialty series[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-vera-mn0000077844), and his liner-note work earned the 2013 Grammy for Best Album Notes for the [Ray Charles](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-charles) box set *Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles*[2](https://billyvera.com/). He has written three books: the memoir *Harlem to Hollywood* (Backbeat Books), the label history *Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story* (BMG Books), and a first novel, *A Dollop of Toothpaste*[2](https://billyvera.com/) • [6](https://rockcellarmagazine.com/one-hit-wonder-or-not-billy-vera-at-this-moment-interview/). He holds a star on the [Hollywood Walk of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-walk-of-fame) near the [Capitol Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-records) building[2](https://billyvera.com/). Billy & the Beaters have continued to perform in Southern California with most of the original members, and Vera leads the Big Band Jazz Orchestra while residing in Los Angeles[2](https://billyvera.com/).
## References
1. [Billy Vera, AllMusic (biography by Bill Dahl)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-vera-mn0000077844)
2. [The Real Billy Vera Story, billyvera.com](https://billyvera.com/)
3. [Billy Vera Seizes the 'Moment', Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1986](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-07-ca-1023-story.html)
4. [Billy Vera, NAMM Oral History Library](https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/billy-vera)
5. [Billy Vera, Hollywood Star Walk, Los Angeles Times](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/billy-vera/)
6. [One-Hit Wonder ... Or Not? A Chat With Billy Vera, Rock Cellar Magazine](https://rockcellarmagazine.com/one-hit-wonder-or-not-billy-vera-at-this-moment-interview/)
7. [Vera Gets Warm Reception From 'Big Chill' Generation, Los Angeles Times, June 20, 1988](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-20-ca-3478-story.html)
8. [Billy Vera, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621255035)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Pop singers, 1980s and 1990s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license