William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, guitarist, and an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (MHOF) in Nashville honors all musicians regardless of genre or instrument. The MHOF timeline starts with the beginning of recorded music and inductees are nominated by current members of the American Feder ...

as a member of The Wrecking Crew in 2007.

Biography

Early life

Billy Strange was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

on September 29, 1930.

Recordings and songwriting

Strange teamed up with Mac Davis to write several hit songs for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, including "

A Little Less Conversation "A Little Less Conversation" is a 1968 song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley, written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange and published by Gladys Music, Inc., originally performed in the film '' Live a Little, Love a Little''. The song becam ...

", the theme from ''

Charro! ''Charro!'' is a 1969 American Western film starring Elvis Presley, shot on location at Apacheland Movie Ranch and Old Tucson Studios in Arizona. This was Presley's only film in which he did not sing on-screen; the film featured no songs at all ...

'', and "

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

". Strange also composed the musical soundtrack for two of Presley's films '' Live a Little, Love a Little'' and '' The Trouble with Girls''. He also wrote "

Limbo Rock "Limbo Rock" is a popular song about limbo dancing written by Kal Mann (under the pseudonym Jan Sheldon) and Billy Strange. An instrumental version was first recorded by The Champs in 1961. The first vocal version was recorded in 1962 by Chubby ...

" which was recorded by

The Champs The Champs are an American rock band, most famous for their Latin-tinged rock and roll instrumental " Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by studio executives at Autry's Challenge Rec ...

and

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

. Strange recorded arrangements of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

movie themes for GNP Crescendo Records and provided the instrumental backing and arrangement for

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

's non-soundtrack version of " You Only Live Twice", as well as Nancy and Frank Sinatra's "

Somethin' Stupid "Somethin' Stupid", or "Something Stupid", is a song written by C. Carson Parks. It was originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as Carson and Gaile. A 1967 version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra became ...

". He was recognized by the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

for his pioneering contribution to the genre. Strange played guitar on numerous

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

hits, including "

Sloop John B "Sloop John B" (originally published as "The John B. Sails") is a Bahamian folk song from Nassau. A transcription by Richard Le Gallienne was published in 1916, and a version was included in Carl Sandburg's ''The American Songbag'' in 1927. Since ...

" and the ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on the ...

'' album. He also played guitar for

Jan & Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

, Randy Newman, and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, among others. One of his most famous performances is on Nancy Sinatra's version of " Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". Strange arranged and conducted all of Nancy Sinatra's Reprise albums as well as Nancy Sinatra's and

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960 ...

's 1972 RCA Records release, ''Nancy & Lee Again'' and their 2003 album, ''Nancy & Lee 3''. He also arranged the 1981 Sinatra and

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

album, ''Mel & Nancy''. He arranged and conducted for Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr.,

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including " Rebel ...

, and Elvis Presley. One of his most famous arrangements was "

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

" for Nancy Sinatra. Strange also performed the vocals for Steve McQueen in ''

Baby the Rain Must Fall ''Baby the Rain Must Fall'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Lee Remick, Steve McQueen and Don Murray. Dramatist Horton Foote, who wrote the screenplay, based it on his 1954 play ''The Traveling Lady.'' Thi ...

''. Heard on the soundtracks of many Disney features, Strange played themes for such TV shows as "The Munsters" (1964), "Batman" (1966), and "Have Gun – Will Travel" (1957). He is the guitarist heard on the theme to "The Munsters". "A Little Less Conversation", which he wrote with Mac Davis, was on the soundtracks of the DreamWorks animated feature films ''

Shark Tale ''Shark Tale'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman (in his feature directorial de ...

'' (2004) and '' Megamind'' (2010). He sang his own composition, "The Ballad of Bunny and Claude", in the Merrie Melodies ''Bunny And Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches)'' (1968) and ''The Great Carrot-Train Robbery'' (1969).

Personal life

Strange was son of George Strange, a radio entertainer, and Vella Evans Strange. Strange was married to singer and actress Joan O'Brien from 1954 to 1955. They had a son, Russell Glen Strange, born on October 4, 1955. He was also married to Betty Jo Conrad (son: Jerry Strange) from 1960 to 1978. They had a daughter together, Kelly Kimberly Strange, born on November 11, 1964. While separated from Betty Jo, Strange moved from California to Tennessee to open and run a publishing firm for the Sinatras and lived with/dated Tricia "LeAnn" King. They had a daughter, Mary "Micah" King (Strange), who was born on December 23, 1976 in

Lawrenceburg, Tennessee The city of Lawrenceburg is the county seat of Lawrence County, Tennessee, United States, The largest city on the state's southern border between Chattanooga and Memphis, it lies on the banks of Shoal Creek. The population was 11,633 at the 20 ...

. Strange was married to singer

Jeanne Black Gloria Jeanne Black (October 25, 1937 – October 23, 2014) was an American country music singer. Life and career Gloria Jeanne Black was born on October 25, 1937, in Pomona, California. She first gained wide exposure singing on Cliffie Stone ...

in his final years. He died on February 22, 2012, aged 81.

Selected filmography

As actor

*'' Coal Miner's Daughter'' – Speedy West (1980)

Film & TV scores

*'' Movin' with Nancy'' (1967) *'' Live a Little, Love a Little'' (1968) *'' Elvis'' (1968) *'' The Trouble with Girls'' (1969) *'' De Sade'' (1969) *''

Bunny O'Hare ''Bunny O'Hare'' is a 1971 American comedy film directed by Gerd Oswald, starring Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine. The screenplay by Coslough Johnson and Stanley Z. Cherry focuses on a pair of senior citizens who, disguised as hippies, engage in ...

'' (1971) *''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' (1995, 1 episode) *''

Ocean's Eleven ''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The ...

'' (2001) *'' Smallville'' (2002, 1 episode) *''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...

'' (2003, 1 episode) *'' Bruce Almighty'' (2003) *''

'' (2004) *'' Megamind'' (2010)

Selected discography

* ''Billy Strange Plays Roger Miller'' * ''Mr. Guitar'' * ''The James Bond Theme / Walk Don't Run '64'' * ''English Hits of '65'' * ''Goldfinger'' * ''Secret Agent File'' (later rereleased as a compilation) * ''James Bond Double Feature'' * ''In the Mexican Bag'' * ''Great Western Themes'' * ''Billy Strange and The Challengers'' * ''Strange Country'' * ''12 String Guitar'' * ''Railroad Man'' * ''Super Scary Monster Party'' (compilation) * ''De Sade'' (film soundtrack)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Billy 1930 births 2012 deaths American male composers 20th-century American composers American session musicians American male singers Songwriters from California Male actors from Long Beach, California The Wrecking Crew (music) members Era Records artists Liberty Records artists Writers from Long Beach, California Musicians from Long Beach, California Guitarists from California American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters