
Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean (born 21 January 1950) is a Trinidadian-English recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular Trinidad–British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s. After scoring his first four UK Top 20 successes, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three US No. 1's. His 1985 hit "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US. In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" and in 1987 was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. His 1988 hit "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached No. 1 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. His 1986 hit "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" also reached No. 1 in the US. In 2002, the University of Westminster, London, awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music. In 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards. On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, presented to him by Sir Paul McCartney. He is a member of the Rastafari movement.
Listed On
- #1 of 19Trinidad and Tobago's Famous Bands
- #3 of 28Caribbean Pop Music Bands List
- #21 of 95Most Famous William Or Bill
- #22 of 32Celebrities Turning 70 In 2020
- #29 of 109The 50+ Best Male Singers Of The 1980s, Ranked
- #44 of 87Best SNL Musicians of the '80s
- #51 of 6050+ Celebrities Born on January 21
- #59 of 150100+ Best Bands & Artists That Start With B
- #69 of 147Best R&B Artists Ranked
- #77 of 228Best '80s Pop Artists, Ranked
- #100 of 936Epic Records Artist Roster
- #158 of 295Greatest '80s Musical Artists
- #162 of 247Best Pop Rock Bands & Artists, Ranked
- #199 of 467Famous People Born in 1950
- #325 of 690Famous People From Trinidad And Tobago

Comments (0)
Join the conversation
Sign in to share your take and reply to others.
First take? What stood out to you about "Billy Ocean"?