- His hit song, "At This Moment" was first used on the sitcom Sacrée famille (1982) in a scene when Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) shares his first dance and kiss with his future girlfriend, and later real life wife, Ellen Reed ( Tracy Pollan). The song was then picked up by DJs across the country and the rest is music history.
- Son of former NBC staff announcer Bill McCord.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1770 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 16, 1988.
- Still tours the Los Angeles club scene with his band, Billy Vera and The Beaters.
- Dated Angie Dickinson in the 1980s.
- In 2016 he published his first book "Vintage Neon: Los Angeles, 1979" featuring photographs from Vera's nocturnal hunts for old neon signs.
- Won a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for the Ray Charles box set Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles.
- In 2020 he published his first novel "A Dollop of Toothpaste".
- Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at the corner of Vine Street and Yucca Street, right in front of the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood.
- Has been the voice for AM/PM Mini Mart commercials since 1999 and is one of the top voice-over artists in Los Angeles.
- His mother, singer Ann Ryan, was a member of The Ray Charles Singers backing Perry Como on his TV show and his hit records.
- Graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.
- For BMG Books he wrote "Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story", released in November 2019.
- In 2017 published a memoir entitled "Harlem to Hollywood".
- Began his recording career in 1962 as a member of the Resolutions.
- Graduated from Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Elmsford, New York.
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