Billy Ray Champion was born on May 6, 1928 in Holdenville, Oklahoma, the second of the eight children born to Chester and Ada Champion. In 1935 at seven years old, Billy started playing rhythm guitar and doing vocals with his two brothers James, who was 10 years old, and Joe, who was 5 years old.
In their hometown of Holdenville Oklahoma, a local minister heard that the brothers wanted to play music and offered to give them lessons. It wasn't long before they were playing at church services. About 1938, the brothers played on their first live radio broadcast over KADA in ADA, Oklahoma. The song "Texas Plains" was their theme song and their favorite band was Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. The brothers, if at all possible, never missed a Bob Wills radio broadcast.
Most of the songs that Billy and his brothers played came from the Bob Wills band. They played their music in the local lodges, at political rallies, and wherever they were requested to perform. They even entered and won a few amateur contests.
In 1940, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys came to Holdenville to participate in the annual celebration called "Arkansas Day". Bob rode his horse, Punkin, in the parade and he and his band played for the dance that evening. During the day, the Champion Brothers, along with other local talent played on stage in the town square. Evidently, Bob Wills loved to hear young musicians play his music, because that evening when he saw the Champion Brothers at the dance, he invited them to sit up on stage between Smokie Dacus on drums and Al Stricklin on piano. This was the greatest thrill of these young musician's lives. Bob also invited them to come and visit his live radio broadcast in Tulsa. But times were hard and they were never able to afford the trip.
The brothers continued to play music around their hometown until 1942 when the family moved to Modesto, California. Billy and his brothers continued to play music together until James went overseas in the war in 1943. They continued to develop their musical skills and learned to play additional instruments. In 1945, Billy and Joe were asked to join a newly organized ten member western swing band called The Gold Coast Playboys. Billy played rhythm guitar and did vocals, and Joe was on piano. Cleon Winters, a fiddler, was the group's organizer. It was the first full western swing band to be formed in northern California. At that time, Bob Wills and Spade Cooley were playing in the Los Angeles area.
The Gold Coast Playboys were together from 1945 to 1947. During these two years, they played for dances up and down the San Joaquin Valley and did a live radio broadcast six nights a week over radio station KTRB, Modesto, California. Most of the members in the band were in their teens. Along with Billy and Joe Champion were Cleon Winters, Walt Levings and Mac McCann on fiddles, Johnny McDonald on drums, Hoot McCann was on lead guitar and later played with Alex Brashear at Wills Point. Also, Truitt Cunningham on bass and vocals later played and sang with Bob Wills. Bobby Lee on trumpet later played with Leon McAuliffe in Tulsa. Travis Smith played steel. Travis along with Billy,Joe,Truitt and Hoot are all members of the WESTERN SWING HALL OF FAME.
After The Gold Coast Playboys disbanded in late 1947, Billy started playing stand up bass and doing vocals with the Cliff Maddox Band playing on live radio and at dances throughout the Valley and Bay Area. Cliff Maddox was the oldest of the Maddox Brothers and organized his own band. As with a lot of musicians, Billy also had a day job and worked for the State of California in Modesto. He was transferred up north to Napa, California in 1948. For the next couple of years, while working at the Yountville Veterans Home, he sat in with bands in local clubs around the area.
From 1952 to 1954 while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in San Diego and Camp Pendleton, California, Billy played guitar and sang with a combo at the NCO club. After being discharged from the Marines in 1954, he moved back up north to Vallejo, California where he worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard which employed about 10,000 workers. During the next seven years, Billy played and sang with a 15 piece swing band and a 5 piece combo at the shipyard. All of the musicians worked full time at their trades and were given some extra free time to entertain their fellow workers. They usually played during the lunch hour in the different shop areas.
From 1961 until 1967 while working at the VA hospital in Livermore, California, Billy played casuals in clubs around the Livermore and the Pleasanton areas.
During the next 14 years from 1968 to 1982 at Washington D.C., Newark, New Jersey and Nashville, Tennessee, the demands of his executive position with the Veterans Administration allowed Billy only time enough to jam with local musicians for relaxation.
He retired in June of 1983 after 33 years of government service and moved to the railroad town of Colfax, California. He joined a group called Lyrical Locos, and entertained at functions around Colfax, Auburn and Grass Valley. He played guitar, electric bass and did vocals. After three years, Billy and his family moved to Galt, California. He joined with his three daughters (the Champion Sisters) in 1987 and played guitar and banjo accompaniment while they entertained at church services, local lodges and clubs, and theatrical and musical productions.
Billy and family moved to Eagle Point, Oregon in 1992, and during the time there he played with local groups including The Champ/Arnold Western Swing Trio, Larry Bernard's Crescendo! Swing and Dixieland bands, Sammy Daulong's Swing & Dixieland Band, and his own Champs of Western Swing Dance Band.
As a performing member of the Western Swing Society over the years, Billy has played tenor banjo with most of the West Coast western swing bands from Seattle to San Diego. Including Truitt Cunningham's San Antonio Rose Band.
During 1998, he made two trips to Tulsa, Oklahoma and played at Cain's Ballroom. In March, he played with Bob Cobb's Swingin' Ambassadors who were the opening act before the Former Texas Playboys appeared. Then in November, he played at Cain's Ballroom with Bobby Wynne's Kings of Western Swing and Bob Cobb's Swingin' Ambassadors for a two day event. Billy says that for a "western swing musician" like himself, to play on stage at Cain's Ballroom - Home of Bob Wills, is equivalent to a country musician getting to play on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
On August 15, 1999, the Champion Brothers: Billy, James and Joe received the Pioneers of Western Swing Award from the Seattle Western Swing Music Society. Also, on October 3, 1999 the Champion Brothers were inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame in Sacramento, California.
In November of 1999, Billy joined with four other Southern Oregon Western Swing Hall of Fame members: Sammy Daulong, Earl Finley, James Holiday and Ken Reeves, to form the Oregon Western Swing Association.
For four years, he worked The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee with Truitt Cunningham and his San Antonio Rose Band. The majority of the band were former Texas Playboys.
Over the years, Billy has appeared on stage with the following Former Texas Playboys and Girls: Truitt Cunningham, Earl Finley, Glenn Duncan, Vance Terry, Roy Honeycutt, Jack Loyd, Skeeter Elkins, Johnny Cuviello, Dean & Evelyn McKinney,Ramona Reed, Al Palmer, Bennie Garcia, Tommy Perkins, Tommy Allsup, Frankie McWhorter, Leon Rausch, Cotton Roberts, Walter Lyons, Jimmy Young, Joe Settlemiers, Curly Lewis,Bobby Koefer,Billy Dozier,Joe Frank Ferguson,Gene Gasaway,Jody Nix and one of the only female instrumentalists to play in a Bob Wills Band - Louise Rowe.
Billy and his band opened for Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel at the Rogue Theater in Grants Pass, Oregon in July of 2001.
He has also played with the Former Texas Playboys at "Bob Wills Day" in Turkey, Texas in 2001, 2006, and 2007.
Billy was inducted into the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame on July 16, 2005.
