It was while clowning a rodeo in John Day, Oregon that Billy W. Chernoff entered a talent show and placed second. He decided to pursue a career in music and headed to Toronto, where he began playing in clubs.

Owen, Glenda, and Billy (1968)

At first Billy played in a duo with Owen Murdoch on lead guitar and then teamed up with Glenda Lee, who was with Canuck Records, to form the "Glenda Lee Trio". Besides Toronto, they played in nearby cities such as St.Catherines, Niagara Falls, Welland and Crystal Beach in Ontario. After 6 months the group disbanded and Billy went to work in the nickel "Inco" mines (5,400 feet underground) in Sudbury to pay off band equipment.

After half a year Billy went back to Toronto and walked into Edison Hotel and met Andy Greatrix, bass player for Myrna Lorrie at the time, and later for Ronnie Hawkins. Andy introduced Billy to Chef Adams, a booking agent who offered a position and also got an evening gig at the Robin Hood Inn in Pickering, Ontario for approximately 1 year doing a single act.

While booking for Adams at CBC in Toronto, Billy met Gary Buck (Canadian Country Male Singer of the Year, 1964-1966). Gary was an artist-producer that arranged Billy's 1st recording session in 1968 at RCA studios in Toronto for 2 songs which included No Lonelier Than You, released on Spartan Records that immediately made the Canadian national charts (#10 - RPM Country Chart, 1969).

Ben Keith and Billy Music City Recorders (1969)

After the success of No Lonelier Than You, Gary Buck set up a meeting with Neil Merritt (Thank God and Greyhound You're Gone - Roy Clark, and May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose - Little Jimmie Dickens) in his Nashville home. Neil gave Billy a crash course in songwriting. He said, "You don't write, you paint." And as a result Billy wrote Susie's Better Half and When You Were A Lady.

Neil arranged the recording session of 4 of Billy's songs at Music City Recorders, which was engineered by Scotty Moore (lead guitar for Elvis Presley). The steel guitar player was Ben Keith who later joined Neil Young. Charlie McCoy played bass harmonica on Susie's Better Half and D.J. Fontanna played drums ( for Elvis Presley as well).

Feeney, Chernoff and Harrison

Billy returned to Toronto, handing the tape to his friend Red Hill (d.j. and country music columnist) who passed it along to Jack Feeney at RCA Records and Billy was signed in April. Susies Better Half was released in the spring of 1969, which went top five, then followed by When You Were A Lady later in the year which went number one on Canada's national charts. Billy was presented with two "Certificates of Honour" by BMI Canada Limited in the company of other well known artists such as Terry Jacks (Which Way You Goin' Billy), Leonard Cohen, Gene MacLellan, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings.

Billy with Ronny Light, Joe Taylor and Chet Atkins

In the fall, Billy, accompanied by John Pozer from RCA Canada, flew to Nashville where he was introduced to Chet Atkins, vice-president of RCA. Arrangements were made for Ronny Light to produce To Ma Ray, Tom O Ray, which was recorded in December, 1969 at the now famous "RCA Studio B" (Elvis Presley), Nashville and released internationally June 1970. It hit the top of the charts nationally in Canada and regionally in the U.S.

A meeting in Nashville with Jerry Guthrie led to a collaboration of the song Fresno Rodeo. (Jerry's dad Jack Guthrie wrote and recorded, with the help of his cousin Woody, Oklahoma Hills.) So, Billy and Jerry pulled up roots and headed west to California with Jerry's wife, two kids, a dog and a cat in Billy's "Olds 98". Billy reunited with his songwriter friend Carl Walden, who introduced him to Sam Goldstein. A five year management deal was signed with Great Western Music Inc., (owned by Sam Goldstein - session drummer in Hollywood, who drummed for the likes of Desi Arnez and Frank Sinatra) and an album, Lookin' Up, was produced for Sussex Records. While touring with Larry and Lorrie Collins, Casey Tibbs heard Chernoff's song Fresno Rodeo. He had it nominated for a Heritage Award with the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

In 1976 Billy left Los Angeles and the music business returning to British Columbia. He worked on the "extra gang" for the Canadian Pacific Railroad, cutting rock in a quarry with a 12 pound hammer, selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door, managed a real estate office and operated a haul-truck in an open-pit mine for the next 9 years.

Billy and Ronny Light (1997)

In 1985 Billy and Bill Brunette, who met Billy in Quebec in the Glenda Lee Trio days, coincidently lived only 2 blocks apart in the Vancouver area (Coquitlam). They eventually got together and formed "Orange County", a 4 piece band that toured Alberta for 8 months, booked through Ida Banks in Edmonton. (Chernoff and Brunette wrote Sally In Dallas on the Fresno Rodeo album.) The group disbanded and Billy went working with Dean Phillips as a duo, "Billy and Dean" for 3 years (1987 - 1990). In 1990 Billy teamed up with Tom Birkiw to form "Lonesome Highway" in Whitehorse, Yukon, where they played for approximately a year and half at the Roadhouse Saloon. Danny Freeway replaced Tom Birkiw and continued with Billy in Whitehorse for a year till the fall of 1992.

Billy started his single club act in December of 1992, which led him to back to the recording studio for the next phase of his recording career and Ronny Light in Nashville. As a result of shopping his new production, Fresno Rodeo, with Ronny Light, in 1995 Billy was invited to perform by Bud Fisher of the Country Music Association of Texas Awards Show in Brady, Texas.

Billy and Tillman Franks (1996)

Immediately after the Awards Show, and after hearing the Big Time Fresno Rodeo production, Billy was invited to meet with Tillman Franks, a pioneer country music business executive and song writer in Shreveport. (Tillman is the Artist's Bureau Director of the original Louisiana Hay Ride", the first to book Hank Williams and Elvis Presley. He Managed Johnny Horton, Web Pierce, and David Houston, wrote hit songs such as "How Far As Heaven" - Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright , North To Alaska and Honky Tonk Man" - Johnny Horton.) Tillman discussed with Billy the new direction of his music and offered constructive suggestions and a positive direction.

On Tillman's advice, Billy Chernoff moved to east Texas, (Cindy Walker's hometown of Mexia) in 1998 and began writing a new chapter in his life, experiencing new opportunities for his music ministry with the new album Life Song Revelations.