Ray was born in Hopewell, Oregon, spending part of his childhood on a farm, eventually moving to Portland, Oregon. Ray was of Native American origin; his great-grandmother was a full-blooded Native American and his great-grandfather was Oregon pioneer George Kirby Gay of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. He became deaf in his right ear at age 13 after an accident during a Boy Scout event. It was his participation in the "blanket toss," a sort of variation of the trampoline, that traumatized the youngster's inner ear. Ray later performed wearing a hearing aid. Surgery performed in New York in 1958 left him almost completely deaf in both ears, although hearing aids helped his condition.
Career
Ray first attracted attention while performing at the Flame Showbar in Detroit, Michigan, an R&B nightclub. Inspired by rhythm singers like Kay Starr, LaVern Baker and Ivory Joe Hunter, Ray developed a unique rhythm based style, described as alternating between pre-rock R&B and a more conventional classic pop approach.
His first record, the self-penned R&B number for OKeh Records, "Whiskey and Gin", was a minor hit in 1951. The following year he dominated the charts with the double-sided hit single of "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud That Cried". Selling over two million copies of the 45 single, Ray's delivery struck a chord with teenagers and he quickly became a teen idol.
Ray's performing style included theatrics later associated with rock 'n roll, including beating up his piano, writhing on the floor and crying. Ray quickly earned the nicknames, "Mr. Emotion", "The Nabob of Sob", and "The Prince of Wails", and several others.
More hits followed, including "Please Mr. Sun", "Such a Night", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home", "A Sinner Am I", and "Yes Tonight Josephine". His last hit was "Just Walkin' in the Rain", in 1956. He did, however, hit again in 1957 with "You Don't Owe Me a Thing", which reached #10 in the Billboard charts. He was popular in the United Kingdom, breaking the record at the London Palladium formerly set by Frankie Laine.[citation needed] In later years, he retained a loyal fan base overseas, particularly in Australia.
Later career influences
Ray had a close relationship with journalist and television game show panelist Dorothy Kilgallen who gave a boost to his sagging career during his engagement at the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1965.
In early 1969, Ray befriended Judy Garland, performing as her opening act during her last concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. Ray was also the best man during Garland's wedding to nightclub manager Mickey Deans in London.[4]
Ray's American career revived in the early 1970s, with appearances on The Andy Williams Show in 1970 and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson three times during 1972 and 1973. His personal manager Bill Franklin resigned in 1976 and cut off contact with the singer a few years later. His American revival turned out to be shortlived. He performed in small American venues such as El Camino College in 1987. Australian, English and Scottish promoters booked him for their large venues as late as 1989, his last year of performing.
Some writers suggested that the reason American entertainment bookers and songwriters ignored him in the 1980s was because they simply did not know who he was, or what his sound was like. His exposure during the new era of cable television was limited to a few seconds in Dexys Midnight Runners' 1982 music video for "Come On Eileen", using archival footage of Ray from 1954. He was name checked in the lyrics to "Come On Eileen" (viz "Poor old Johnnie Ray sounded sad upon the radio / he moved a million hearts in mono").
His other video appearance was in Billy Idol's 1986 "Don't Need a Gun", in which Ray appeared on-camera.
Here I Am
Johnnie Ray Lyrics
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There he is, my old pal,
And here am I, broken hearted!
She was mine in May, his in June,
She forgot mighty soon,
And here am I, broken hearted!
The last time that we said goodbye,
It's bad enough that I lost her,
I only had to lose him too!
Therer they go in their joy,
Happy girl and lucky boy!
And here am I, broken hearted!
Oh, my heart will never ever know a pain
If I hadn't ever loved in vain,
But here am I, broken hearted!
The above lyrics from Johnnie Ray's song "Broken Hearted" depict the emotional turmoil of a man who has been left heartbroken after seeing his former lover with another man. He sees the couple in what seems to be a happy state, but his own heartache hinders his ability to find joy in their happiness. The lyrics focus on the intense and overwhelming feeling of heartbreak, and how it can cause one to feel lost and alone.
The first stanza of the lyrics highlights the singer's feelings of betrayal as he sees his old gal with his old pal. The man laments that the woman he once thought was his, quickly forgot about him, and moved on to another man. Despite their previous romantic connection, the man is now left alone with his broken heart. He sings about the pain of seeing the woman, who was once his in May, with another man only a month later in June.
The second stanza reveals a sense of finality in the breakup. The man knows that their last goodbye was the end, and he feels the weight of his losses. Losing the woman he loved would have been bad enough, but he lost his friend too. The final stanza expresses intense emotion as the man sadly watches the couple enjoying their happiness, while he is left alone with his pain. He knows that he will never be able to escape the pain of heartbreak, even if he never loved at all.
Line by Line Meaning
There she is, my old gal,
The woman I used to be in a relationship with is standing there.
There he is, my old pal,
The man I used to consider a friend is also here.
And here am I, broken hearted!
I am standing here feeling heartbroken.
She was mine in May, his in June,
She was my girlfriend at one point, but then she became his girlfriend shortly after.
She forgot mighty soon,
She moved on from our relationship very quickly.
And here am I, broken hearted!
Despite her moving on, I am still feeling heartbroken.
The last time that we said goodbye,
The last time we parted ways,
I knew that we were through!
I was aware that our relationship was ending for good.
It's bad enough that I lost her,
Losing her was already painful enough.
I only had to lose him too!
It was even more painful to lose him as well.
Therer they go in their joy,
They are walking away, happy and content.
Happy girl and lucky boy!
She seems happy with him, and he seems lucky to be with her.
And here am I, broken hearted!
But I am still here, feeling heartbroken as ever.
Oh, my heart will never ever know a pain
If I had never loved and experienced heartbreak,
If I hadn't ever loved in vain,
If I had never loved unrequitedly or had my love taken for granted,
But here am I, broken hearted!
Unfortunately, the reality is that I am still standing here, feeling heartbroken.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KIM RICHEY, MICHAEL JAMES HENDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind