William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer.

With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions never recorded by the Beatles, among them the UK number one "Bad to Me" (1963).

Kramer grew up as the youngest of seven siblings and attended the St George of England Secondary School, Bootle.

He then took up an engineering apprenticeship with British Railways and in his spare time played rhythm guitar in a group he had formed himself, before switching to become a vocalist.

[1] Kramer soon came to the attention of Brian Epstein, ever on the look-out for new talent to add to his expanding roster of local artists.

This was followed by a George Martin creation, "Magic Carpet", in which an echo-laden piano played the melody alongside Maxfield's guitar.

[2] The Dakotas' ranks were then strengthened by the inclusion of Mick Green, formerly a guitarist with the London band the Pirates who backed Johnny Kidd.

[4] He had a solo career over the next ten to fifteen years or so, working in cabaret and television with his new band, again from the Manchester area, consisting of Pete Heaton (bass), John Miller (drums) and Tim Randles (guitar) - this later saw changes with Bob Price now on bass and Roger Bell on guitar.

In the late 1970s, Kramer teamed up with Bedford musicians Mike Austin (bass), Max Milligan (guitar) and John Dillon (percussion), the one constant member throughout the changes in musicians at this time was his sound engineer Stewart Oakes, performing cabaret in the UK and Europe, whilst also recording "San Diego" and "Ships that Pass in the Night" – after which Kramer eventually went to live in the United States.

The Dakotas re-formed in the late 1980s and recruited vocalist Eddie Mooney and session musician Toni Baker.

In 1983, Kramer released a solo single on the RAK label, "You Can't Live on Memories" / "Stood Up", which failed to chart.

In 2005, Kramer recorded the song "Cow Planet" for Dog Train, the children's album by Sandra Boynton.

In late 2012, Kramer went back into the studio for the first time in years to record a new CD, I Won the Fight, which was released in 2013.