Showing posts with label Bob Dylan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Dylan. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

POOR OLD JOHNNIE RAY



"Poor old Johnny Ray, Sounded sad upon the radio, But he moved a million hearts in mono."

"Come On Eileen" - Dexy's Midnight Runners

A few weeks ago, I asked people if they knew who the guy in these photos were back in the 80s & 90s, when his name seemed to be dropped into several popular songs.


Yes, 80's and 90's kids, this is Johnnie Ray, the singer mentioned in "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Don't Need a Gun" by Billy Idol, "Sometimes When We Cry" by Van Morrison, "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel and "Are you Jimmy Ray?" by Jimmy Ray.

You couldn't say his music is forgotten, but the impact of his performing style is. Johnnie Ray was the one-man transition team between the quiet crooners such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como to wild rock and rollers like Elvis, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Ray would start off singing a love song in a soft, high-pitched, almost childlike voice, but by the end of the song, he would be screaming, almost in tears, sweating and twisting his clothes. He would sometimes collapse at the end of a song. Many of his biggest hits were songs that were sad and about crying. His biggest hit was "Cry" followed not long after by "The Little White Cloud the Cried." Comedians, like Stan Freberg and Spike Jones (with help from Billy Barty), love to imitate him and make jokes about his style, while teenage girls loved him. You might say Johnnie Ray was the 50s version of Justin Bieber.

Part of the reason for the lack of familiarity of younger generations with his style is because Ray's peak in popularity came during televisions infancy, when many shows were shown live and not recorded for posterity. Also, very little footage of his concerts exist.

Not to brag, but I knew the name Johnnie Ray back in the 80s. I knew of him from two places: my parents and the TV show Happy Days. My parents had an LP of 50s hits that was on the Columbia label. Both of the songs I mention above were included on this LP. I knew of these songs because of Happy Days. One episode ends with the gang having to leave Arnold's because they have been grounded. The only people left are the two waitresses, Marsha and Wendy, and a nerdy girl and a fat boy eating a large banana split. The juke-box begins playing "The Little White Cloud That Cried" and the boy and girl get up and dance with each other. I should point out that the show ends before the point in the song where Ray has one of his famous "meltdowns."

If you watch the closing credits, you will notice that Johnnie Ray receives a special thanks.  Apparently, Johnnie Ray rerecorded some of his hits for the the producers to used, because his name and Fats Domino are the only two musical artist who were thank for allowing the use of their recording for most of the run of the show. Oddly, enough the show didn't use Ray's songs after the fifth season, although they used Domino's music right up til the end.

I remember my parents watching nostalgia variety shows on PBS and seeing Johnnie Ray, but he never see perform in the frantic style that made him famous in his younger days. However, he still could sing loud enough to wake the dead. Of course, his trademark sound has been attributed to the fact that he was partially deaf.

Beside appearing to cry, Ray also seemed to give the impression that he was in severe pain. When you read his story you'll find out there was quite a bit of suffering in his life and later career. He lost most of his hearing at a young age and an operation, at the height of his career, to restore his hearing caused him to lose the rest. Problems with a bad manager that caused Ray to have problems with the IRS and may have sabotaged his career. Rumors of bisexuality coupled with two arrest for soliciting sex in a men's room, a bought with tuberculosis and alcoholism led to Ray being on a constant roller coaster of near-comebacks and disappointments.

While the American public never gave Johnnie Ray the comeback that he wanted, Britain and the rest of the world continued to love him. One of the reasons he was mentioned in the songs of Dexy's Midnight Runners and Billy Idol was because he was never forgotten in Britain. Ringo Starr once mentioned that the Beatles were influenced by him. Bob Dylan admits that Johnnie Ray was one of his favorite singers. Once you become familiar with Johnnie Ray's singing style you recognize it as the inspiration for Dylan's famous singing style that he adapted when he went "electric" in the mid 60s.

Just four years after appearing in the video of Billy Idol's song, "Don't Need a Gun" as a man driving around in a classic car, Johnnie Ray died on this day in 1990. So next time you hear his name in a hit from the 80s, you will know more about him.

Here is one of the few TV clips I could find from his heyday in the 50s.



     
     

   

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

MUSICAL CLONES: THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

I frequently hear people whine and complain that most contemporary music sounds the same. I believe part of the problem has to do with the lack of announcers on radio these days. However, part of what inspired me to write this post was Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Bruno Mars "Locked Out of Heaven." I noticed recently how much Lady Gaga on that song sounds like Madonna. Then a few weeks ago, I heard the Bruno Mars song and thought it was a song by the Police. Let me say, I have no problem with this at all.

If you really want to talk about musical cloning or sound alike artist on T-40, then go back to the mid-60s. Yes, the era that many people, who criticize the current music scene say produced great music. You had "Lies" and "One Track Mind" by the Knickerbockers that sounded like The Beatles. You had Mouse and the Traps "Public Execution" and "Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice" which sounded like Bob Dylan. The Walker Brothers "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" and "Make It Easy On Yourself" sounded like the Righteous Brothers. The Count 5's "Psychotic Reaction" sounded like The Yardbirds "I'm a Man." Barry Young's "One Had My Name, The Other Has My Heart" sounded exactly like then-current Reprise era hits by Dean Martin. The Rolling Stones produced the most imitators, including The Shadows of Night with "Gloria" and "Bad Little Woman," The New Colony Six "I Lie Awake," The Standells "Dirty Water," The Seeds "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" and "Pushing Too Hard." The Kinks managed to have imitations from their contemporaries The Who ("I Can't Explain") and Paul Revere and The Raiders ("Just Like Me"). Although people accused The Hombres "Let It All Hang Out" of being a Bob Dylan imitation, the Southern hipster vocal and goofy lyrics sound more like a cousin of Roger Miller's "My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died" or "You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Heard." Do you get my point?

Over time there have been many "musical clones" or imitations. Many times it is a coincidence or a case of mistaken identity, but many times it is a homage by one artist of someone they admire. Great examples of this include Tommy Roe's early singles, Billy Joel's Innocent Man LP, and XTC's alter ego The Dukes of the Stratosphere. There have also been instances in which every record company tried to find "a group like ..."
The late 50s, there were several clones of the Everly Brothers. Some like the Kalin Twins and the Allisons were real brothers, while Skip & Flip and Tom & Jerry weren't. Matter of fact, Tom & Jerry were two guys named Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

There are also times when people compare the sound of a new artist to an established artist. America was compared to Neil Young and Heart was compared to Jefferson Airplane/Starship on their first hits, but later those comparisons disappeared with follow-up releases.
 
I've decided to compile a list of singers and recordings that sounded like them.

NAT KING COLE
  • "The End" Earl Grant

ELVIS PRESELY:
  • "You Don't Know What You've Got" Ral Donner
  • "Suspicion" Terry Stafford
  • "Washing Machine" Orion (Not only sounded like Elvis, but looked like him. Wore a gold domino mask and was promoted as Elvis reborn)
 BUDDY HOLLY
  •  "What Do You Want" Bobby Vee
  • "Shelia" Tommy Roe
  • "I'm Gonna Love You Too" The Hullabaloos
  • "Someday Someway" Marshal Crenshaw
BO DIDDLEY
  • "Cherokee Dance" Willie and his Unitar
  • "Hey Little Girl" Dee Clark
  • "Rosalyn" The Pretty Things
  • "I Want Candy" The Strangeloves
  • "Who Do You Love" George Thorgood and The Destroyers
CHUCK BERRY
  • "Surfin U.S.A" The Beach Boys
  • "Katmandu" Bob Seger
  • "I Knew The Bride" Dave Edmunds
THE EVERLY BROTHERS
  • "When" Kalin Twins
  • "Hey Schoolgirl" Tom & Jerry
  • "Are You Sure" The Allisons
  • "Love Me Baby" The Balew Twins (They were in a film called Rock It, Baby, Rock It, a clip of them singing this song was used in It Came From Hollywood.)
EDDIE COCHRAN
  • "Everybody" Tommy Roe
  • "Just Like Eddie" Heinz
JACKIE WILSON
  • "Jamie" Eddie Holland (He wrote most of the big Motown hits)
JOHNNY MATHIS
  • "A Very Special Love" Johnny Nash
LITTLE RICHARD
  • "I'm Down" The Beatles
  • "No Time" The Monkees
FATS DOMINO
  • "Lady Madonna" The Beatles
DION & THE BELMONTS
  • "The Longest Time" Billy Joel
FOUR SEASONS
  • "Uptown Girl" Billy Joel
THE BEATLES
  • "She's The One" The Chartbusters
  • "Lies" and "One Track Mind" The Knickerbockers
  • "The Kids Are Alright" The Who
  • "Mayor of Simpleton" XTC
  • "Go All The Way" The Raspberries
  • "I'll Be There For You" The Rembrandts
THE BEACH BOYS
  • "Here, There and Everywhere" The Beatles
  • ""Beach Baby" The First Class
  • "Pale and Precious" The Dukes of the Stratosphere (XTC)
BOB DYLAN
  • "Catch The Wind" Donovan
  • "Public Execution" Mouse & The Traps
  • "Stuck In the Middle With You" Stealers Wheel
  • "Sultans Of Swing" Dire Straits
  • "Romeo's Tune" Steve Forbert
  • "The Good Life" Firetown
THE BYRDS
  • "Western Union" The Five Americans
  • "Don't Fear The Reaper" Blue Oyster Cult
  • "American Girl" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  • "South Central Rain" R.E.M.
  • "You're My Drug" The Dukes of the Stratosphere
THE ROLLING STONES
  • "125" The Haunted
  • "Gloria" and "Bad Little Woman" The Shadows of Knight
  • "I Lie Awake" The New Colony Six
  • "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" and "Pushing Too Hard" The Seeds
  • "Don't Look Back" The Remains
  • "Dirty Water" The Standells
  • "You Said" The Primatives
  • "Brown Eyed Girl" Van Morrison
  • "Who Are The Mystery Girls?" The New York Dolls
  • "Emotions" DFX2
DEAN MARTIN
  • "One Has My Name, The Other Has My Heart" Barry Young
  • "Julie, Do You Love Me" Bobby Sherman
ROGER MILLER
  • "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out" The Hombres
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
  • "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" and "Male It Easy On Yourself" The Walker Brothers
ROY ORBISON
  • "You're Only Lonely" J.D. Souther
  • "Maria" Ray Vega
MARVIN GAYE
  • "Tell Her About It" Billy Joel
THE KINKS
  • "I Can't Explain" The Who
  • "Just Like Me" Paul Revere & the Raiders
THE WHO
  • "Biff! Bang! Pow!" The Creation
  • "Mr. Pinnodmy's Dilemma" The Attack
  • "I Must Be Mad" The Craig
  • "Helter Skelter" The Beatles
THE YARDBIRDS
  • "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" David Jones & the Lower Third (David Jones changed his name to David Bowie)
  • "Psychotic Reaction" The Count Five
  • "I'm Sick of You" Iggy & the Stooges
ELECTRIC PRUNES
  • "25 O'Clock" The Dukes of the Stratosphere
PERCY SLEDGE
  • "Whiter Shade of Pale" Procol Harum
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
  • "The Garden of Earthly Delights" United States of America
  • "Send Me a Postcard," "Love Buzz" and "Venus" The Shocking Blue
  • "Zor and Zam" The Monkees
  • "Crazy On You" and "Magic Man" Heart
  • "Only The Lonely" The Motels
JANIS JOPLIN
  • "Baby It's You" Smith
THE FIFTH DIMENSION
  • "Grazing In the Grass" The Friends of Distinction (Originally they were all part of the same group)
  • "Rock The Boat" The Hughes Corporation
ARETHA FRANKLIN
  • "Rescue Me" Fontella Bass (This was actually released before Aretha's Atlantic recordings, but many people think it IS Aretha)
  • "Would I Lie To You?" The Eurythmics
WILSON PICKETT
  • "Easy Money" Billy Joel
STEVIE WONDER
  • "Hyperactive" Thomas Dolby
THE DOORS
  • "Golden Brown" The Stranglers
 BEE GEES
  • "Toast and Marmalade" Tin Tin
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
  • "Long Cool Woman On a Black Dress" The Hollies
LED ZEPPELIN
  • "Working Man" Rush
  • "Rock Me" Great White
  • "Get It On" Kingdom Come
  • "Woman" Wolfmother
HUMBLE PIE
  • "7 O'Clock" The London Quireboys
JOHN LENNON
  • "Let Me Roll It" Wings
  • "Valotte" Julian Lennon
PAUL McCARTNEY
  • "You're a Very Lovely Woman"  The Merry Go Round
  • "Sky High" Jigsaw
  • "All By Myself" Eric Carmen
NEIL YOUNG
  • "A Horse With No Name" America
  • "Painted Lady" Ian Thomas (Brother of SCTV star Dave Thomas)
THE CARPENTERS
  • "Don't Say You Don't Remember" Beverly Bremers
ROD STEWART (The only male artist to have female clones)
  • "It's a Heartache" Bonnie Tyler
  • "Bette Davis Eyes" Kim Carnes
  • "Run To You" Bryan Adams
DAVID BOWIE
  • "Crush With Eyeliner" R.E.M
ELTON JOHN
  • "Take Your Mama" Scissor Sisters
GARY GLITTER
  • "Jungle Boy" John Eddy
STEELY DAN
  • "Mary's Prayer" Meet Danny Wilson
  • "Motor Town" The Kane Gang
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
  • "The Boys Are Back In Town" Thin Lizzy
  • "Bat Out of Hell" Meatloaf
  • "I Need a Lover" John Cougar (Mellencamp)
  • "This Little Girl" Gary U.S. Bonds (Song was written by Bruce Springsteen)
  • "On the Dark Side" and "Tender Years" John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
 EMMYLOU HARRIS
  • "Pilot of the Airwaves" Charlie Dore (Australian girl singing about a DJ)
THE SWEET
  • "Talk Dirty To Me" Poison
BILLY JOEL
  • "Ariel" Dean Friedman
JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
  • "I Wish I Had a Girl" Henry Lee Summer
THE POLICE
  • "Locked Out of Heaven" Bruno Mars
ASIA
  • "When The Heart Rules the Mind" GTR
  • "The Final Countdown" Europe
BILLY IDOL
  • "Don't You (Forget About Me)" Simple Minds (Billy Idol later recorded this)
MADONNA
  • "Born This Way" Lady Gaga
PRINCE
  • "Oh Shelia" Ready For the World

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY BOB DYLAN!

The best way to celebrate than with the magazine named after one of his songs, Rolling Stone. Bob, may you remain forever young.

I'll forgo expressing my thoughts on how people who hate Bob Dylan's music should be rounded up and tortured by the government. My opinions are why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
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