In 1965, being offered a new song by Paul McCartney would have seemed like a golden ticket. But one British Invasion star was reportedly offered what would become one of The Beatles’ most famous songs and decided it wasn’t for him.
Billy J. Kramer, who became one of the biggest stars to emerge from Liverpool’s Merseybeat scene outside of The Beatles, turns 83 on Aug. 19.
Born William Howard Ashton in Bootle, England, in 1943, Kramer initially had his sights set on a much different career. He took an engineering apprenticeship with British Railways and played guitar in his spare time before eventually becoming a vocalist.
Music won out, and after coming to the attention of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Kramer was paired with the Dakotas and signed to Parlophone under producer George Martin.
But his connection to The Beatles went much deeper than sharing a manager, producer and record label.
Billy J. Kramer Turned Down Paul McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’
Kramer became one of the chief beneficiaries of McCartney and John Lennon’s rapidly developing songwriting talents in the early 1960s.
His first major hit was “Do You Want to Know a Secret,” which had already appeared on The Beatles’ debut album Please Please Me. Kramer followed it with “Bad to Me,” a Lennon-McCartney composition that The Beatles never commercially recorded themselves.
“Bad to Me” went all the way to No. 1 in the U.K., while other Lennon-McCartney songs recorded by Kramer included “I’ll Keep You Satisfied” and “From a Window.”
But Kramer eventually went looking elsewhere for material. His gamble paid off spectacularly with “Little Children,” which became another No. 1 hit in the U.K. and reached the Top 10 in the United States.
Later, Kramer reportedly approached McCartney about giving him another song. McCartney’s offer was a little number called “Yesterday.”
Kramer passed.
According to an account by longtime Merseybeat journalist Bill Harry, Kramer simply didn’t think “Yesterday” was suitable for him.
The Beatles went on to release “Yesterday” on Help! in 1965, with McCartney performing the song essentially solo, accompanied by a string quartet. It became one of the group’s most enduring recordings.
For Kramer, turning it down became one more remarkable chapter in a career that was intertwined with The Beatles almost from the beginning.
John Lennon Even Gave Billy J. Kramer His Name
Kramer also has Lennon to thank for one of the most recognizable parts of his stage name.
After Epstein agreed to manage the young singer, Kramer recalled being called into Epstein’s office for a meeting where Lennon was waiting.
Lennon suggested adding the middle initial “J” to Billy Kramer to give his name more distinction. When Kramer wondered what he should tell reporters the letter stood for, Lennon suggested “Julian.”
Kramer kept the “J,” although not Lennon’s proposed explanation.
More than six decades after his breakthrough, Kramer has continued recording and performing. He released the album I Won the Fight in 2013 and published his autobiography “Do You Want to Know a Secret” in 2016. More recently, he released the singles “Are You With Me” in 2024 and “Go On Girl” in 2025.
And while Kramer may forever be the singer who once said no to “Yesterday,” he didn’t exactly need The Beatles’ future standard to leave his mark. By then, Lennon and McCartney had already helped give him a collection of hits all his own.
Related: Paul McCartney’s No. 1 Duet Partner Swooped In to Outbid Him For The Beatles’ Catalog For $47.5 Million 41 Years Ago Today
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