Raised in New Orleans, Billy grew up playing and singing alongside the legends of rhythm and blues – cutting his first original tunes in the same studios that gave birth to the careers of Little Richard, Huey “Piano” Smith, Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint.

A friendship with the legendary Professor Longhair and the help of Allen Toussaint led him to study piano under the renowned Roger Dickerson.

A few days into his first piano gig at the Backstage 500 Club at Bourbon and St. Louis, New Orleans musical icon, Al Belletto heard Billy and his band and hired them to sing at the New Orleans Playboy Club, after which Billy became the touring bandleader for Grammy-nominee Merrilee Rush (“Angel of the Morning”).

Next came writing and session-playing stints at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Doc’s Place in Nashville and Lion Share Studios in L.A..

It was in Nashville that Billy wrote his first hit single, “Better Our Hearts,” a Top-10 hit for Warner Brothers act, Bandana. It was soon followed by his own single and music video, “The Other Side of Town.” (See Videos page)

He returned to the West Coast for an impressive run with his rhythm and blues band, “Billy Mac and the Knifes,” Billy then performed as an original solo artist, primarily at the Aladdin Hotel and the Rio Suite Hotel in Las Vegas, and the legendary Edgewater Hotel in Seattle.

Co-writing the baseball musical, “The Show,” with Donna Rae Davidson fueled his love of combining sports and song. The result was two unique CD’s marrying music and the history of golf, Tee It Up and The Back 9. GOLF Magazine named “Augusta Sweet Augusta” one of the Top 10 golf songs ever written.

Among his latest musical endeavors is “Leftover Tears” just released by R&B Hall of Fame group, The Spinners. The song was co-written by Billy, veteran hit-maker and producer Preston Glass and singer-songwriter Brandon Wattz. Other projects include “Back In Brooklyn,” written for Little Anthony and composed with Anthony himself and Preston Glass (who also produced the session), and the mid-2023 release of his next CD, “Better Man For Loving You,”  primarily recorded at Ocean Way Nashville.Billy’s latest Cd,Crescent City Exile, is a simmering mix of the sounds and styles that make New Orleans the legendary musical spot on the map that has so long captured our imaginations,

Billy recently is a published author of the biography of beloved Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus, My Oh My: The Dave Niehaus Story.

A three-time recipient of The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Special Award to Songwriters, Billy lives on a small farm outside of Seattle with his wife, Merrilee Rush, and their small herd of Old English Sheepdogs.