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BillyHeads.com History - The Beginnings The history of the BillyHeads website is a rich one. Beginning from the tumult of a severed alliance, the website has grown from a small start up enterprise into Billy's biggest and best-known online fan base. So grab a cup of coffee, kick off your shoes and delve into the history of the site. It all began shortly after the June 2000 release of Billy's One Voice album. A site was begun by Jonathan Bravata, simply titled "A Billy Gilman Fan Page," one of only three non-official Billy sites that existed at the time. Seeking community, many fans of Billy's flocked to his official message board, erected by Sony, at BillyGilman.com. In September of 2000, an idea was proffered to create a fan site for the fans, by the fans; one where people could submit their works and gather with like-minded individuals. In essence, a fan site that concentrated as much on Billy's fans as it did on promoting the then 12-year-old dynamo. A tentative title was suggested by Chrissy Davis--"BillyHeads"--and was received enthusiastically by most of the fans that gathered on the Sony message board. The protests of one webmaster, the leader of the then largest non-official fan site on the Internet, did not quell the enthusiasm. An individual from England by the name of Anthony piped up immediately, explaining that he had just purchased a domain name, billygilman.co.uk, and would happily use it to begin the BillyHeads idea that had taken root. However, he admitted he did not know the first thing about web design, and asked for help in the physical creation of the site. Initially, Jon offered only his ScareCrow message board software to the cause, but somehow, he was lured in and agreed to undertake the creation of the site. However, creative differences would soon divide the duo and send them in different directions. The design was begun and examples proffered to Anthony, but it did not seem to meet his satisfaction. His demand was a site with a green background and a light lime-green text color. Hideous! When the differences could not be resolved, and personal issues began to arise, Jon decided that he did not have to consult with Anthony or use his domain. No money had been exchanged--the work, in addition to his current load with "A Billy Gilman Fan Page," was simply something he had offered to do, but he refused to abandon his scruples and design sense and create a page that would literally hurt the eyes to look at. Fearing that Anthony was in control of the web space and domain, and might in vengeance or dissatisfaction delete the site, it was moved to a free ProHosting account and placed under the total control of Jon. The initial pages were created quickly. In this early juncture of Billy's career, there was simply not a lot of information that needed to be given. Creation was based on suggestions from the folks at the Sony Billy Gilman board, and continue to be a basis for all content to present day. However by far the most enjoyed feature was the message board. People flocked to the board, perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps something else, but all found a place where the sense of community was easily felt. While it had begun very slowly, the popularity of the board was growing exponentially. Then, suddenly, the Sony board succumbed to the trollings of dissatisfied fans of other artists. The board was closed in December of 2000 and with an alarming suddenness, the BillyHeads board suddenly had an entirely new role as the only active and maintained board of its time.
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