At This Moment – Billy Vera & The Beaters | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1) and Adult Contemporary; 1987
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
When Billy Vera’s At This Moment reached #1, 19 years had passed since his first single as a singer hit the chart: Storybook Children, a duet with Judy Clay. Billy racked up his first #1 as a songwriter in 1979 when Dolly Parton conquered the country chart with I Got The Feeling.
That year Billy also formed the Beaters to – in Billy’s words – “meet some girls!” That they did, and more. A live recording of I Can Take Care Of Myself from a performance at L.A.’s Roxy cracked the Top 40 in 1981.
Unfortunately, Billy’s label pulled the plug just as another in-person track, At This Moment, was gaining momentum. Four years later Vera got a call that would change his life.
A producer for NBC-TV’s Family Ties wanted to use At This Moment in a twopart episode. By the time Vera negotiated a reissue deal for the song, he had missed the summer rerun season. Fortunately, the song was used again in the opening show of the 1986 season. On January 24th, 1987 At This Moment topped the Hot 100.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Jeff Baxter
Lyrics Written by:
- Billy Vera
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).