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.
If You Believe
Johnnie Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And sisters
Listen
You non-believers, listen
You better start to believe
All you doubters
Be "hallelujah shouters"
There's no time to wait
You may be too late
So, listen
You don't know what you're missin'
Until you start to believe
If you believe that there's a heaven
You'll get to heaven
If you believe
If you believe that there are angels
You'll see the angels
If you believe
I'm not making promises
To the doubting Thomases
But if you believe the Lord can help you
The Lord will help you
If you believe
-We do, we do, we do
Do you believe?
-We do, we do, we do
Do you believe?
-We do, we do, we do
Well, Jonah went out one night in a gale
Do you believe that?
-We do, we do, we do
Soon, he was swallowed up by a whale
Do you believe that?
-We do, we do, we do
Daniel lay down with lions that roared
Noah was on his ark when it poured
Moses looked up and he spoke to the Lord
Do you believe that?
Do you believe that? We do
-We do, we do
The song "If You Believe" by Johnnie Ray is an inspiring gospel song that urges people to believe in God, heaven, and angels. The song opens with a call to non-believers to start believing, to be "hallelujah shouters" or else they will grieve. The singer insists that there's no time to wait and encourages people to start believing before it's too late. He suggests that if one believes in heaven, they will go to heaven, and if they believe in angels, they will see the angels.
The next part of the song boldly asserts that the Lord can help you if you believe, leaving no room for doubt. The singer then asks the listener if they believe in certain stories from the Bible, such as Jonah being swallowed by a whale, Daniel laying down with lions, Noah's ark, and Moses speaking to the Lord. The listener responds with a resounding "We do, we do, we do."
Overall, the song is a call to faith and an invitation to believe in God's power and the truth of the Bible. It encourages listeners not to miss out on the wonders of heaven and angels by doubting or delaying their belief.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen
Pay attention to what I'm saying
You non-believers, listen
Those who don't believe in God should listen
You better start to believe
It's important to start believing in God
All you doubters
Those who doubt or question the existence of God
Be "hallelujah shouters"
Celebrate and praise God with all your might
Or else you're going to grieve
If you don't believe in God, you will suffer
There's no time to wait
Don't wait to believe in God
You may be too late
If you wait too long, you may miss the opportunity to believe
So, listen
Pay attention to what I'm saying
You don't know what you're missin'
If you don't believe in God, you're missing out on something great
Until you start to believe
You won't understand the benefits of believing until you start to believe
If you believe that there's a heaven
Believing in heaven is important
You'll get to heaven
If you believe in heaven, you'll go there after you die
If you believe that there are angels
Believing in angels is important
You'll see the angels
If you believe in angels, you'll see them in certain situations
I'm not making promises
I can't guarantee anything
To the doubting Thomases
To those who require proof before they believe
But if you believe the Lord can help you
Believing that God can help you is important
The Lord will help you
If you believe, God will provide assistance in times of need
Do you believe?
Asking if the listener believes in God
Well, Jonah went out one night in a gale
Telling the story of Jonah to emphasize the power of God
Do you believe that?
Asking the listener if they believe in the story of Jonah
Soon, he was swallowed up by a whale
Continuing the story of Jonah to emphasize the power of God
Daniel lay down with lions that roared
Telling the story of Daniel to emphasize the power of God
Noah was on his ark when it poured
Telling the story of Noah to emphasize the power of God
Moses looked up and he spoke to the Lord
Telling the story of Moses to emphasize the power of God
Do you believe that?
Asking the listener if they believe in the stories being told
We do
Responding positively to the questions, stating that they do believe
Writer(s): IRVING BERLIN
Contributed by Chase C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Peter Beschorner
No one could sing a song like Johny Ray! every fibre in his being was involved in that performance! I remember seeing 'There.s no buisness like show buisiness' in South London and coming home completely blown away by that one song. I have always believed, my parents and others had no part in what has always been in my heart!
Gloria Landers
This song gives me goose bumps every time I hear it
MR JACK
Enjoyed the gospel song sung by Johnnie Ray. Liked seeing Donald O'Connor and the others in this scene clap their hands and sing along during this song.
Janice Gibb
Gosh what memories this brings back. Love it all over again.
Michael Firth
This guy had magic.😊
Emmy Easter
Wow! I love it!
Mean Mister-Mustard
Shame about the subject matter really. Such nonsense
Miraak
@stephen ogden Poor child.
stephen ogden
@Miraak I just did; you and your mountainous intellect were moved to reply, ha,ha,ha!
Miraak
@stephen ogden So then, please give me a demo. Something you should be able to accomplish.