| Billie Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Billie Keith Hughes |
| Born | 4 April 1948 Texas |
| Died | 3 July 1998 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Rock, folk, pop |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, violin |
| Years active | 1969–1998 |
| Associated acts | Lazarus |
Billie Hughes was an Emmy-nominated,[1] American recording artist, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known for his songs with Philip Bailey with Phil Collins, The Jacksons, The Sisters Of Mercy, Bette Midler, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Lazarus, as well as songs from his solo albums. Billie Hughes had a successful artist career in Japan, awarded with #1 International Single of the Year, NHK Grand Prix Awards.
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Billie Hughes began his recording career as leader of the group Lazarus. In association with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary, Lazarus moved to Woodstock, N.Y., signing with the newly formed Bearsville Records (Warner Bros.) label, under the direction of Albert Grossman. Two albums were recorded and released on Bearsville, produced by Peter Yarrow and Phil Ramone. In the next four years, Lazarus performed extensively throughout the United States and Canada. In 1976 Lazarus won the Clio Award for "Lifesavers" Best Commercial of the Year which ran nine years nationwide.[2] In 1974, The Lettermen covered the Billie Hughes song "Eastward", from the first Lazarus album. It was released as a single, reaching #16 on the Billboard US Adult Contemporary chart, and included on The Lettermen's Now And Forever album.
Billie Hughes began his solo career in 1978 upon signing with Epic Records. His "Dreammaster" LP was produced by Henry Lewy in Los Angeles. During the next four years, Billie Hughes toured the United States, Canada and Japan performing as an artist and travelled to Japan, Canada and Italy to record and produce various projects including his own hit single "Martin Eden" (CBS motion picture theme song) which charted Top 5 all over Europe.
Bill Hughes wrote the song "Martin Eden" with Italian composers Ruggero Cini and Dario Farina. It was written from the composer's theme from the 1979 TV mini-series Martin Eden based on the Jack London novel, directed by Giacomo Battiato.
Billie Hughes recorded "Martin Eden"and it was released as a single in Europe where it topped the Billboard charts in several territories, such as Sweden where it reached #2.
In 1983 Hughes formed a partnership with lyricist Roxanne Seeman which set in motion a career of recording, producing, and songwriting for film, television, and records including works produced by such name producers as Phil Collins, Arif Mardin, Michael Omartian, George Duke and Reggie Lucas and included such artists as Philip Bailey, The Jacksons, Bette Midler, The Sisters Of Mercy, Randy Crawford, Al Jarreau, Melissa Manchester, and the #1 charting Japanese duo Wink, among others.
In 1991, Billie Hughes' "Welcome To The Edge" appeared as a theme song in the hit Japanese TV drama "Mou Daremo Aisenai". Pony Canyon Records in Japan released Billie Hughes' CD "Welcome To The Edge," remaining in the Top 10 of the Billboard Japan chart for four months. "Welcome To The Edge" also received an Emmy nomination for Best Original Song in the television show "Santa Barbara". Billie Hughes received a second Emmy nomination for Best Original Song in the television show "Another World".
March 1992, Billie Hughes performed "Welcome To The Edge" at the NHK nationally televised Japanese Grand Prix Awards and received the award for "#1 International Single of the Year" (single sales reaching over 520,000 copies on the Pony Canyon label). MC Hammer performed "U Can't Touch This" at this show.
In September 2004, the first pop concert in history was staged on the Great Wall of China outside of Beijing with Alicia Keys headlining. Billie Hughes and Roxanne Seeman's song "Walking On The Chinese Wall" by Philip Bailey produced by Phil Collins was the finale of the event.