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billymann

@billymann

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Husband/Dad, Grammy Award-nominated Singer/songwriter, Producer, Talent Advocate, Publisher, Investor, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Patriot 🇺🇸

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4am on West 54th. Cold sesame noodles on the console. Floor-to-ceiling plaques — the only things in that building that ever slept.

That was @thehitfactorynyc. When #TommyMottola or #DonnieIenner or another CEO needed a record — or any of the dozens of breathless on-call execs behind them you’ll likely never read about — somebody ran. Back then, if you weren’t running, caffeinated and alert like a paramedic, you weren’t recording. The execs ate at @raos1896.

I got the leftovers. Once. 🍝

Ed Germano bought a two-room studio in 1975 and turned it into the three words every liner note wanted. His son @troygermano grew up in those rooms, then spent twenty years getting the family name back over the door. It’s in NoHo now. Same name. Same Germano energy.

I helped make dozens of records in your dad’s house, Troy. This week you had me back under the Germano roof. Thank you.

I eventually got my meals in at Rao’s. Beautiful meal. But the kitchen that really fed me was always The Hit Factory. 💥🏭🎶 #thehitlife

PS. We recently lost @christopher_j_apostle and I want to send my condolences to his family. He was often the guy who called me and told me what studio to report to… RIP Chris. Thanks for always being a gentleman to me. 🙏

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Neither @jeffskunkbaxter or I will remember this night from somewhere back in the long ago…but it happened! And that dude is 🎸🔥
#thehitlife

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🎂Happy birthday @shawnstockmanofficial
What a journey life is, bro! Blessed to call you my friend, collaborator and (when our lives allow) band mate. @chosenfamilymusic is one of so many things on the daily Thanksgiving plate I’m grateful for. Celebrate everything today! Your beautiful wife and kids and all of the little things. 54! Don’t forget to press save! #thehitlife #chosenfamilymusic #shawnstockman

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11….

pounds…..

That’s also how much I
weighed at that age. 🤦🏻‍♂️

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Good things with good people in a world that so badly needs both. 🌎 #thehitlife

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🍊☀️🌅 🥾 ⛰️ Family

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I make it a point to keep the door open to people whose beliefs or values differ from mine. I love talking with those I disagree with—debating, learning, questioning, listening, testing ideas & policies. The freedom to argue, even over views I abhor, is at the core of American democracy. Without it, the whole experiment collapses. Social media carries both promise & peril. It can amplify small voices with big ideas, and big voices with toxic ones. Every letter we type, every word, pause, like, follow, comment, song, emoji, & image contributes to a digital fingerprint. That fingerprint lives in fluorescent-lit data centers where it is collected, measured, categorized, siloed, & processed into zeros & ones. Digital dust. Atoms. This isn’t new just more refined. There is no breadcrumb drop that isn’t vacuumed up by the modern tech land of never-forgetville. A.I. is the ultimate Hoover.

The video our current president posted on social media yesterday was grotesquely offensive. Like every leader, President Obama had flaws & inconsistencies. I agreed with him on some issues & disagreed on many others. I deeply disagreed with President Bush. I struggled with the decline of President Biden. But I always root for every President. We can criticize, satirize, protest & mobilize, but the depiction of the Obamas in that video struck a nerve. It wasn’t critique or satire—it was something older & uglier— beneath the office that posted it. It didn’t just offend millions of people; it diminished all of us. And it was especially jarring coming from a president who claims to be obsessed with reviving greatness. This isn’t about censorship but standards. Leadership doesn’t require silence, but, man,it does require judgment, humility & remorse.

Data centers remember everything—not just what we say when we’re careful, but what we share when we’re reckless. We will not forget moments like this —not out of vengeance, but because memory is accountability. We may be a work in progress but the American spirit has its own data centers, built from un-redacted history, conscience & collective memory. They don’t run on algorithms, but on values. And they are always on. #yeswecan
🇺🇸💔

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🐐 @kobaltmusic CEO and one of my favorite humans on earth: Laurent Hubert. 🌍 And yes, I am 6’4” and Viking size. 😅 Find your people and take care of them in life, music and any other industry. 🙏 #thehitlife

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@rebeccajarvis 👑 Chief Business Anchor for @abcnews and one of the welcoming souls at the @goodmorningamerica desk. Can you imagine waking up each day to unpredictable headlines and trends that can both inspire and disturb – – just like any other American – – and still smile at the camera knowing the public needs to feel OK? Shout out to all morning show hosts, their producers and talent bookers for managing and navigating what would be impossible for most us without spiking our coffee! ☕️ .

I first met Rebecca at the United Nations, she was advocating with me for global recognition of the autism community and we’ve stayed friends now for over a decade. An investigative journalist and thinker. A wife and mom. An indefatigably curious intellect and work ethic. Her path to awards and continued success mirrors most overachievers I know: you couldn’t make it up! Thanks for showing us the new GMA facility. #thehitlife #GMA #RebeccaJarvis

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I first met @kellyrowland briefly outside Sony Studios in January 2001; I believe she was 19. Months later we were at A&M Studios on LaBrea writing and recording for her first solo album…all this while @destinyschild was on full, touring on full, features on full…career and life was on full. @genamann7 and I were expecting our first when we finally got in the studio and I remember Kelly telling me how much she loves kids and she could not wait to meet our baby. She called me big bro. Over the years, Kelly is promises made, promises kept. Kelly was there for our first, second, third and fourth kid… for milestones and cobblestones. Seeing her perform tonight—her first time back touring America in years—had me so proud of her. Yes she sang the hits. Yes she crushed the high notes. Yes the dancing was fire. Yes she does not age. But as fast as she got off stage, she skipped past the flashbulbs and kudos and was back in mom-mode, full glam and arms gathering her sons up in her arms. Her career on stage, television, in films, singing, DC, solo, speaking, advocating, all of it has never eclipsed her passion for being a parent. Balance is not easy for any of us in this world, but tonight her balance was effortless. And that sparkly, curious, 19 year old smile remains full and bright, just as it was decades ago. Loved seeing you, Tim and the boys, Kel. More milestones to come! 🫶 i love you

@barclayscenter ‘s roof shook and

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I’m still a believer in American democracy even when the pendulum swings mercilessly—even when there are those who prefer to push the pendulum rather than allow for a moment of exhale in the hopes the volatility might slow. As long as we can vote, this remains our Democracy… @johnfetterman and I don’t have to agree on team logos (my @philadelphiaeagles Go 🦅 Birds! versus his @steelers #respect) or on every issue…but we both appreciate a quality hoodie AND a healthy debate. And for today the Senator instead chooses to wear the @usmovementnow hoodie started by an 11 year old who’s trying to show people that the “us” in the 🇺🇸 USA shouldn’t be lost by divisive politics from any side. I’m willing to stand in what feels like a much lonelier center these days and not walk around with a “must agree to all” check list of judgment. That is simply another form of othering. I pray for those who leap and dance at the far edges; smug righteousness often forgets how easily one could plunge down to the jagged rocks below the ideological cliff. #dreamsandnightmares #talktoeveryone #theusmovement #billymann #fetterman

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