Billy Storm born 29 June 1938

 Billy Storm (born June 29, 1938 –September 5, 1983) was a American R&B singer. 

William Hamlin Spicer was born in Daytona, Ohio, after his mother's name. He was also known, over the years, as Billy Fortune and Billy Storm. As a songwriter he used the pseudonyms John Carson and Billy Carson. 

Billy Hamlin Spicer was a student at LA High School and sang in a choir with Brice Coefield. He had founded a vocal ensemble called "The Sabers" with his cousin Rip Spencer from Jordan High School, Walter Carter and a classmate named Herbie. After their first recording in 1955 for Hite Morgan, Billy joined the group, who could sing both bass and a tenor reminiscent of Clyde McPhatter. After a second recording session, the group renamed itself "The Chavelles". Jazz pianist Lloyd Glenn established a contact with the producer Bumps Blackwell of Specialty Records, who then became the manager of the group. Blackwell brought new recordings, including the Valley of Love co-authored by Billy to Vita Records. Then Herbie and Walter Carter left the band, the gap that was left was filled by singer and guitarist Chester Pipkin from the Squires. With the change of line-up, the next name was changed to The Valiants. 

Billy, who now called himself Billy Storm, had become the lead singer of the quartet with his bright tenor voice. Shortly before their first recordings for Specialty in 1957, their manager Blackwell was fired from there and they followed him to Keen Records. In two recording sessions with Don and Dewey as instrumentalists, among others, the Valiants recorded a large part of their work, including the up-tempo numbers This Is the Night and Good Golly Miss Molly. The latter was from Little Richard the year before. The very fast version of the Valiants came on the market in November 1957 before Richard's version. Blackwell also used the group as the opening act for Sam Cooke at his concerts on the west coast. This Is the Night was to be the only chart success of the Valiants and after a few more unsuccessful single releases and the looming business closure of Keen Records, Billy Storm left the band to try his hand at a solo career. 

                              

First, Billy recorded with the rest of the Squires again for Hite Morgan Every Word of the Song and Listen to Your Heart, which were released on Morgan's Dice Records label under the name "Billy Fortune & the Squires" and on Deck Records under the name "Billy Storm & the Squires”came out. A few more tracks were released on the Barbary Coast label. It wasn't until 1958, after Columbia Records bought Billy for $ 1,700 from a contract with Barbary Coast, that the singer made a 28th place on the pop charts with I've Come of Age. The recording was by Mitch Miller who worked with Billy the following year. 

In 1960 and 1961, Billy recorded R&B and pop standards for Atlantic Records under Phil Spector. Depending on his account balance, Billy also supported his old colleagues from the Valiants, who now published in different compositions as The Electras, The Untouchables or The Alley Cats. When Billy supported the Untouchables for the recording of You're on Top on Liberty Records, they were joined by Lou Adler and Herb Alpert supervised. The latter played his first trumpet solo on the piece and would later become world famous on the wind instrument. Throughout his long career Billy only had two album releases, in 1961 – ‘This Is The Night’ on Famous F-504, and later ‘Billy Storm’ (label not known).

In 1962, Billy recorded three singles for Infinity Records under John Marascalco, who with Bumps Blackwell was already the songwriter of Good Golly Miss Molly and other Little Richard hits, was in charge of Electras as A&R manager for Infinity and on his own small labels. The next station was the label Buena Vista Records of Disney Studios, where Billy not only recorded material for six singles, but also lent his voice in Disney films cartoon characters. In 1966 he sang again with the Electras on Marascalco's label Ruby-Doo Records. 

Finally, in late 1968, Billy became part of the last incarnation of The Sabers/The Valiants/The Untouchables which was the soul group Africa, recording for Lou Adler's Ode label. They recorded the album Music from Lil Brown, on which Billy Storm placed his own composition Here I Stand. The record was released, as well as two single releases and two solo singles by Billy on Ode Records. While Africa was around, most of the members turned up in the Brothers And Sisters Of Los Angeles, a 28-person group that also recorded for Ode. The guys still sometime appeared as the Valiants/Alley Cats.

Tragically at the age of 45 years old, the beautiful lead voice of the Valiants, Billy Storm, passed away on September 5, 1983 in Los Angeles.

Billy’s cousin Rip Spencer became an independent record producer, working on an album with Levon Harris. On December 9, 2009, Rip was shot and killed (at age 70) at his home in Compton, California.

(Edited from Wikipedia, Marv Goldberg & IMDb)

Out of Los Angeles, this disc released in June of 1966 is the only single issued by Billy Storm on the Hanna-Barbera label.  'Please Don't Mention Her Name', written by Pat Vegas and Gene McDaniels, is an explosive dancefloor number with an arrangement that no doubt was inspired by the hits coming out of Detroit on the Motown label.