Billy Vera
has had a long, varied career in R&B that has been somewhat overshadowed by his inaccurate reputation as an '80s one-hit wonder. True, his one smash hit arrived in in 1986 when
"At This Moment"
shot to the top of the charts thanks to its showcase on the
Michael J. Fox
-starring sitcom Family Ties, but
Vera
's career started some 20 years earlier via
"Storybook Children,"
a duet with
Judy Clay
that climbed into the R&B Top 20 in 1968. After that single,
worked steadily in Los Angeles, which is where he eventually formed
the Beaters
, and after
he continued to work, producing and writing for a variety of artists -- including
Bonnie Raitt
and
Lou Rawls
-- in addition to performing with
and carving out a reputation as a peerless R&B historian. 2011's
Billy Vera Story
is the first compilation to touch upon each of these eras, beginning with his duets with
Clay
and then moving through his excellent country-soul before getting to the '80s retro-revivalism. Throughout it all,
is an empathetic, effective singer with an excellent ear for material. For anybody who knows
's reputation as a historian but none of his music outside of
"At This Moment,"
this is the place to go to discover how deep his love of R&B and soul truly lies. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine