Billy & Lillie

Based in the New York area, this vocal duo comprised Billie (b. Billy Ford, 9 March 1925, Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA) and Lillie (b. Lillie Bryant, 14 February 1940, Newburg, New York, USA). In late 1957 they recorded the bouncy ‘La Dee Dah’, written by songwriters Frank C. Slay Jnr. and Bob Crewe, who had recently penned ‘Silhouettes’. The track became a Top 10 smash in the US charts and sold over a million copies. ‘La Dee Dah’ was covered in the UK by Scottish teen star Jackie Dennis, whose version reached the Top 5. Billy played the trumpet and also had his own backing group the Thunderbirds. Most of their singles were released on London Records in the UK.