Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of four and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds. Connolly and his older sister, Florence (named after their maternal grandmother, and eighteen months his senior), were cared for by his father's two sisters, Margaret and Mona Connolly, in their cramped tenement in Stewartville Street, Partick. Connolly, Sr. returned from the war, a stranger to his children, shortly after the move to Partick. He never spoke to them about their mother's departure. Connolly's biography, Billy, written by wife Pamela Stephenson, documented years of physical and sexual abuse by his father, which began when he was ten and lasted until he was about 15.

Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.

Connolly, Billy; Campbell, Duncan (19 March 1976). Billy Connolly, The Authorized Version. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-330-24767-2.
Connolly, Billy (27 October 1983). Gullible's Travels. Arrow Books. ISBN 978-0-09-932310-5.
Connolly, Billy (18 October 2018). Made in Scotland: My Grand Adventures in a Wee Country. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1-78594-370-6.
Connolly, Billy (12 October 2021). Windswept and Interesting (autobiography). Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-52931-826-5.