Career
He has been part of the Danish bands Delta Cross Band, Cross-Schack-Ostermann and Everybody"s Talking. Billy Cross started as a professional musician in the United States in 1960 as a studio musician and helped produce many albums. He played briefly with the 50"s nostalgia act Sha Na Na and played guitar in the Broadway show of Hair.
He became the musical director of the National touring company of Hair in 1972.
Cross also played in Jim Rado"s after Hair show, Rainbow in New York City. He first visited Denmark in 1974, giving concerts in Copenhagen and subsequently returned there often, although he worked with Bob Dylan and Meat Loaf at the time. In 1979, Billy Cross recorded the album Number Overdubs with the Danish blues/rock band Delta Blues Band of which he became a regular member, with the band name slightly changed to Delta Cross Band to welcome him.
With Delta Cross Band, Billy Cross released four more albums: Rave On (1979), Up Front (1981), "Astro Kid" (1982) and Tough Times (1990). The greatest hits Civil Defense "Dirty Trax" was released some time later.
In 1980, Billy Cross produced Danish rock singer Curriculum Vitae Jørgensen"s Tidens tern, while also playing guitar and co-writing the music on the recording.
He simultaneously remained committed to Delta Cross Band, who had slowed their activities down considerably after 1983, with fewer concerts. In 1983, he wrote "Take Maine Back" to Bonnie Tyler"s signature-album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Billy Cross also followed a solo career and an album, although he remained better known as a producer and a studio musician.
In this capacity, he produced works by Anne Dorte Michelsen, Curriculum Vitae Jørgensen, Björn Afzelius, Allan Olsen, Henning Stærk, Søs Fenger, Henrik Strube, Jørn Hoel, Pretty Maids, Johnny Madsen, Lars Lilholt and the Danish band Dalton made up of Lilholt, Madsen and Olsen.
In recent years, he has been part of the trios Cross-Schack-Ostermann and Everybody"s Talking. Everybody"s Talking released four Civil Defense"s: "Everybody"s Talking", "Talk of the Town", "Louisiana", "Now We"re Talking" between 2003 and 2010.
In 2004, he released his first solo album Life Is Good, followed by another album So Far So Good, released in 2009. He came back with his album The Dream Hasn"t Changed in 2012.
Billy Cross has written two books, the American cook book "Mit amerikanske køkken" (2001) and a book of memoirs "Så langt så godt – et liv medical rock" (2010), both in Danish.