Early life Billy Strange was born in
Long Beach, California, on September 29, 1930.
Recordings and songwriting Strange teamed up with
Mac Davis to write several hit songs for
Elvis Presley, including "
A Little Less Conversation", the theme from
Charro!, and "
Memories". Strange also composed the musical soundtrack for two of Presley's films
Live a Little, Love a Little and
The Trouble with Girls. He also wrote "
Limbo Rock" which was recorded by
The Champs and
Chubby Checker. Strange recorded arrangements of
James Bond movie themes for
GNP Crescendo Records and provided the instrumental backing and arrangement for
Nancy Sinatra's non-soundtrack version of "
You Only Live Twice", as well as Nancy and
Frank Sinatra's "
Somethin' Stupid". He was recognized by the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame for his pioneering contribution to the genre. Strange played guitar on numerous
Beach Boys hits, including "
Sloop John B" and the
Pet Sounds album. He also played guitar for
Nancy Sinatra,
Jan & Dean,
The Ventures,
Willie Nelson,
The Everly Brothers,
Wanda Jackson,
Randy Newman, and
Nat King Cole, among others. One of his most famous performances is on Nancy Sinatra's version of "
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". Strange arranged and conducted all of Nancy Sinatra's Reprise albums as well as Nancy Sinatra's and
Lee Hazlewood's 1972 RCA Records release,
Nancy & Lee Again and their 2003 album,
Nancy & Lee 3. He also arranged the 1981 Sinatra and
Mel Tillis album,
Mel & Nancy. He arranged and conducted for Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis Jr.,
Duane Eddy, and Elvis Presley. One of his most famous arrangements was "
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for Nancy Sinatra. Strange also performed the vocals for
Steve McQueen in
Baby the Rain Must Fall. Heard on the soundtracks of many Disney features, Strange played themes for such TV shows as "The Munsters" (1964), "Batman" (1966), and "Have Gun – Will Travel" (1957). He is the guitarist heard on the theme to "The Munsters". "A Little Less Conversation", which he wrote with
Mac Davis, was on the soundtracks of the
DreamWorks animated feature films
Shark Tale (2004) and
Megamind (2010). He sang his own composition, "The Ballad of Bunny and Claude", in the Merrie Melodies
Bunny And Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches) (1968) and
The Great Carrot-Train Robbery (1969).
Personal life Strange was son of George Strange, a radio entertainer, and Vella Evans Strange. Strange was married to singer and actress
Joan O'Brien from 1954 to 1955. They had a son, Russell Glen Strange, born on October 4, 1955. He was also married to Betty Jo Conrad (son: Jerry Strange) from 1960 to 1978. They had a daughter together, Kelly Kimberly Strange, born on November 11, 1964. While separated from Betty Jo, Strange moved from California to Tennessee to open and run a publishing firm for the Sinatras and lived with/dated Tricia "LeAnn" King. They had a daughter, Mary "Micah" King (Strange), who was born on December 23, 1976, in
Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Strange was married to singer
Jeanne Black in his final years. He died on February 22, 2012, aged 81. ==Selected filmography==