Taking The Music World By Storm
Aired on Treasure Island Oldies – July 19, 2026
Imagine having a successful recording career but nobody knew about it.
Over the years, this was the norm for many artists who failed to become “household” names and often wound up erroneously in the “One Hit Wonder” category.
A classic example of this is an American R&B singer who was born William E. Spicer in Dayton, Ohio in 1938.
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William “Billy” Spicer moved to California and was a student at LA High School, where he sang in the choir. He subsequently ended up joining a vocal group called the Sabers, bringing with him a bass voice and a tenor reminiscent of Clyde McPhatter.
After a second recording session, the group renamed themselves the Chavelles. Soon afterwards, legendary producer Bumps Blackwell of Specialty Records became the group’s manager.
Under his management, Blackwell brought new recordings, including ” Valley of Love,” co-written by Billy Spicer, to Vita Records. It failed to chart.
A personnel change led the band to rename itself the Valiants and Billy Spicer becoming Billy Storm.
With the Valiants, he released “This Is The Nite” on Keen records. It made it onto the Billboard pop charts late in 1957 and peaked at the #69 position the following year.
In 1959 as a solo artist Billy Storm, at the age of 21, made the Top 40. In fact, he reached the #28 position on the charts. Like the title of his song, he was justified in stating that “I’ve Come Of Age,” this week’s Tom Locke moment in time.
YouTube listing of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RKBQuOEOqY
This “Moments In Time” story is yet another example of a “golden oldie” or forgotten favorite that earned its place in the evolution of Rock & Roll.
