Living in Los Angeles, and writing songs for Warner Brothers, Billy Vera and his old friend, bass player Chuck Fiore decided to put together a band to play the local club scene. Modeling their band on Ray Charles's 1950s band, The Beaters were born. They featured a horn section, as well as a pedal steel guitar, along with drums, piano, Fiore's bass, and Vera's lead guitar and vocals. As a result of the buzz the band generated, Alfa Records offered them a recording contract. They recorded the band live,[1 and in 1981 yielded the minor hits "I Can Take Care of Myself," which reached number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.

S. , and "At This Moment," which (initially) charted at number 79.