Russ Wagner the original bass player for the Kids wrote me recently and had this to share about his time with Billy & the Kids:

I met Bob & Bill Burns in downtown Wenatchee, at a music store. They said they were starting a band and needed a lead guitar player and a bass player. I signed on as their bass player, but only knew a few chords on guitar but nothing about bass. My dad bought me a silvertone bass and amp and I was in. I knew Bob Gourley, he was an excellent guitar player for a kid, and he fit right in. I can’t remember how Mike entered the band but we were a full band now. Bob & Bill’s dad booked bands from all over the northwest for armory dances on weekends. He promoted us alot so we started to get popular right from the beginning. My dad got a new job in Spokane & my family moved, so that ended my stint with Billy & the Kids.

I was surprised & delighted to see your site. Keep up the good work!

An archive Wenatchee World article said this about Billy & the Kids:

“Billy and the Kids”, five talented junior high school youngsters from East Wenatchee, Wash., make their professional debut on records with “It’s Not the Same,” b/w “Say You Love Me.” Uniquely, this group is comprised entirely of 12- and 13-year-old boys who write all their own material. This group consists of twins Bill and Bob Burns on the drums and

guitar, lead singer Mike Rice, lead guitar man Bob Gourlie, and Ken Laymance on the rhythm guitar. An attractive and vibrant “go-go” girl, Pam Cartwright, joins the group for public appearances. “Billy and the Kids” demonstrated exceptional poise on their first professional recording endeavor. “They play the good hard rock as well as any group I’ve ever heard,” was the appraisal made by veteran Wenatchee disc jockey Don Bernier, who helped launch the professional careers of these teenagers by recording ‘It’s Not the Same’ on the Julian label, a Bernier enterprise.