Billie Davis born 22 December 1945

Carol Hedges (born 22 December 1945), known professionally as Billie Davis, is an English 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). 

Mike Sarne and Billie Davis

Davis was an early proponent of many of the fashion styles for which the 1960s are remembered: bobbed hair, long boots and leather mini-skirts. She was said to have beaten the latter for "percussive effect" when recording. The biographer of the "supergroup" Cream described her as "astonishingly photogenic". 

She was born in Woking, Surrey, England and 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 impresario Robert 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. 

Billie with Jet Harris

In 1963, the year in which popular music was transformed by the rise of The Beatles, Davis left Decca records owing to financial disagreements. In September of that year she suffered a broken jaw when a chauffeur-driven limousine in which she and Jet Harris, former bass guitarist of the Shadows, were returning from a concert in Worcester, crashed in the West Midlands. Harris received head injuries that seriously affected his already troubled career. Billie suffered a broken jaw and was unable to record for four months due to having her jaw wired shut after the accident. 

In 1966, Davis paired with Keith Powell (Keith Powell and the Valets) as "Keith (Powell) and Billie (Davis)" under the Piccadilly record label. They released three singles including "Swingin' Tight", which while popular did not make the chart and the short lived pairing was dissolved. In the late 1960s, Davis returned to Decca, with former Ready Steady Go! presenter Michael Aldred as her producer. Recordings included Chip Taylor's "Angel of the Morning", in 1967, on which she was backed by, amongst others, Kiki Dee and P. P. Arnold. Arnold later recorded the song herself and had the bigger hit in 1968. Davis' final chart entry was a Northern soul version of Jon Hendricks' "I Want You to Be My Baby", originally recorded by Louis Jordan in 1952, which reached number 33 in October 1968, although sales were affected by an industrial dispute at the manufacturing plant. 

Billie married her manager Alan Davis in 1967 and left Decca in April 1971 after a stay of eight years. She continued to record into the 1980s and was popular, in particular, with audiences in the Spanish-speaking world which acquired an extensive fan base. Further commercial headway and an ever-increasing workload there and in Latin America made it prudent for Billie to decamp to Barcelona for more than a decade. On returning to London, the singer embarked on projects such as Stormy, a well-received 1998 album with guitarist Albert Lee, and stage reunions with old flame Jet Harris.   

Her 2005 album release “The Decca Years” was a retrospective collection of her recordings for Decca which awakened new interest in her singing and she received fan mail from many countries.  In 2006, she was re-united with Jet Harris for a series for concerts. In 2007, RPM Records released Whatcha Gonna Do? Singles, Rarities and Unreleased 1963-1966, which compiled Davis's releases between her two tenures with Decca, as well as "What I Will", and five unreleased tracks.

Billie has also worked on fundraising projects, in particular, with the heritage foundation, placing various blue Plaques, including John Lennon and Dusty Springfield, and raising money for various causes including the Tsunami Benefit, and poverty charities. Billie has performed at many of charity Gala's with the likes of Denny Laine, Rick Wakemen to name a few. She continue's to write and record new material. Her recent projects have gone back to early rock n roll sounds, recording and performing with the musicians from the Rockabilly scene. In 2017 she released the single Elvis Where are You? 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Billie Davis Music & Beat Magazine)