WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.080 Welcome to the Deep Dive, where we take your 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.280 stack of sources and distill them into the nuggets 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:06.879 of knowledge and insight you need to know. Today, 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.400 we are opening up the files on one of the most 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:13.380 intriguing and just contradictory figures in 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:15.919 20th century music history. Absolutely. A man 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.100 known by titles that seem to clash violently. 00:00:18.379 --> 00:00:20.480 I mean, he was the Nabob of Saab. The Prince 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.940 of Wales. And yet, and this is the one that always 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.460 gets me, he was described by the great Tony Bennett 00:00:25.460 --> 00:00:28.440 as nothing less than the father of rock and roll. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:31.800 That is the ultimate paradox, isn't it? And that's 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:33.520 what we're here to unpack. We're doing a deep 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.820 dive into the life and, I mean, the utterly pivotal 00:00:36.820 --> 00:00:40.119 musical legacy of John Alvin Ray, who lived from 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:43.560 1927 to 1990. Right. Our mission today is to 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:45.560 navigate these sources, to really understand 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:48.000 how he went from being this, you know, obscure 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:51.520 pianist in Detroit to an absolute global phenomenon 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.460 in the early 1950s. We're talking mass teen hysteria. 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.439 Mass hysteria. Years before Elvis Presley even 00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:59.880 arrived on the scene. And the reverse side of 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:03.200 that claim is just as critical, Rice. We have 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.920 to analyze why, after all that incredible early 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:08.579 success, he basically disappeared from the American 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:10.840 spotlight. Completely vanished. But at the same 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.260 time, remained this monumental star internationally. 00:01:14.739 --> 00:01:17.099 It just doesn't add up. It doesn't. And this 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:19.099 mystery is only deepened by the fact that you 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:22.019 have these hugely influential artists across 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:24.790 decades. I'm talking Bob Dylan. Morrissey. Wow. 00:01:25.069 --> 00:01:27.030 Still holding him up as a foundational influence. 00:01:27.329 --> 00:01:29.209 So the source material is pretty direct about 00:01:29.209 --> 00:01:31.730 this contradiction. It's brutally honest. One 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:34.670 source says he is barely remembered today in 00:01:34.670 --> 00:01:37.969 the US. So how does that happen? How does a pioneer 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:41.390 who fundamentally changed how musicians perform 00:01:41.390 --> 00:01:45.950 become so... So thoroughly forgotten. Yeah, that's 00:01:45.950 --> 00:01:47.709 the question. We have to look at the drama of 00:01:47.709 --> 00:01:50.349 his life, the physical, the emotional challenges 00:01:50.349 --> 00:01:53.170 he faced and see how those personal battles fueled 00:01:53.170 --> 00:01:56.569 this unique, you know, pioneering stage presence 00:01:56.569 --> 00:01:58.530 that became his trademark. So it's all connected. 00:01:58.790 --> 00:02:00.590 It's all connected. Ray wasn't just a singer. 00:02:00.629 --> 00:02:03.090 He was an emotional bridge in popular music. 00:02:03.170 --> 00:02:05.450 And we need to study the architecture of that 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:08.509 bridge. OK, let's unpack this history. It sounds 00:02:08.509 --> 00:02:11.430 like a story defined by drama. from the very, 00:02:11.449 --> 00:02:13.789 very start. It really is. So let's start at the 00:02:13.789 --> 00:02:16.689 beginning. John Alvin Ray, born in Dallas, Oregon, 00:02:16.909 --> 00:02:20.370 January 10th, 1927. Right. And his childhood 00:02:20.370 --> 00:02:23.409 sounds, on the surface at least, like a pretty 00:02:23.409 --> 00:02:26.229 typical quiet American upbringing, Pacific Northwest. 00:02:26.990 --> 00:02:29.930 He started playing piano incredibly young. How 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:32.370 young are we talking? The sources say by age 00:02:32.370 --> 00:02:35.629 three. Three. And he was singing in the local 00:02:35.629 --> 00:02:38.629 church choir by age 12. You know, just a naturally 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:40.889 musical kid. The family eventually moves to Portland 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:43.129 during World War II. He attends Franklin High 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:45.909 School. He's picking up odd jobs after that. 00:02:46.050 --> 00:02:49.530 All sorts of things. A soda jerk, a busboy, even 00:02:49.530 --> 00:02:52.330 a mill worker in Salem. And all the while, he's 00:02:52.330 --> 00:02:54.469 honing his skills, playing piano gigs in local 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:57.150 clubs. What's so crucial here, I think, is that 00:02:57.150 --> 00:02:59.349 while he had this amazing natural talent, the 00:02:59.349 --> 00:03:01.870 world he came from was just so far removed from 00:03:01.870 --> 00:03:04.169 the high -octane theatrical world he would later 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:06.349 create. A million miles away, he was a small 00:03:06.349 --> 00:03:09.069 -town kid with a gift. But then his entire trajectory 00:03:09.069 --> 00:03:11.550 was altered by a single catastrophic event when 00:03:11.550 --> 00:03:14.370 he was just 13. And this is the event that really 00:03:14.370 --> 00:03:17.169 defines the emotional texture of his later career, 00:03:17.310 --> 00:03:20.629 isn't it? It's everything. At age 13, Ray was 00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:22.789 involved in a really serious accident during 00:03:22.789 --> 00:03:25.270 a Boy Scout ritual. It was called a blanket toss. 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:28.770 A blanket toss? That sounds so innocent. Deceptively 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:31.689 so. This seemingly innocuous activity resulted 00:03:31.689 --> 00:03:34.930 in profound damage. It led to permanent deafness 00:03:34.930 --> 00:03:38.199 in his left ear. That is such a shocking detail. 00:03:38.539 --> 00:03:41.039 That a childhood injury from a boy scout camp 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.900 could fundamentally reshape a future musician's 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:46.280 entire life and career. And you see the physical 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:49.099 challenge immediately. He had to rely on a hearing 00:03:49.099 --> 00:03:51.780 aid for his entire performing career. But the 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:53.840 struggle didn't even end there, did it? No, it 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:57.099 got worse. After a surgery in 1958, which was 00:03:57.099 --> 00:03:59.319 actually aimed at improving his hearing, the 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.219 condition deteriorated. He was left nearly completely 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:04.770 deaf in both ears. Just... Think about that for 00:04:04.770 --> 00:04:07.090 a second. The mental fortitude required to be 00:04:07.090 --> 00:04:09.569 a professional vocalist, relying on amplification 00:04:09.569 --> 00:04:11.889 for the one sense that is most crucial to your 00:04:11.889 --> 00:04:15.150 art. It's almost unimaginable. The irony is just. 00:04:15.830 --> 00:04:18.850 It's almost unbearable. But here's the crucial 00:04:18.850 --> 00:04:22.060 insight we get from the sources. Ray didn't just 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:25.959 manage this disability. He credited it as being 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:28.600 absolutely pivotal to his unique performance 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.360 style. It wasn't just a hindrance. For him, it 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:33.819 became an artistic wellspring. How so? Because, 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:36.459 you know, you so often hear about performers 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:39.199 hiding a disability or fighting against it. But 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:41.899 it sounds like Ray almost embraced its psychological 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:45.000 consequence. He did. He connected it directly 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.040 to his emotional output. He explicitly stated 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:50.980 that his deep need for sincerity traced right 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:53.339 back to becoming withdrawn as a child because 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:56.000 of the hearing loss. So he felt isolated. Totally 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:57.699 isolated. And he said that feeling generated 00:04:57.699 --> 00:04:59.720 an emotional need to develop a relationship to 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.660 other people. So his high drama, hyper emotional 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:06.569 stage presence. It wasn't just showmanship. Not 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:08.810 at all. It was his way of desperately trying 00:05:08.810 --> 00:05:10.709 to bridge the gap that the deafness had created 00:05:10.709 --> 00:05:13.230 between him and, well, the rest of the world. 00:05:13.629 --> 00:05:16.269 Precisely. His vulnerability was not an act. 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:19.649 It was a psychological necessity that he channeled 00:05:19.649 --> 00:05:22.709 directly into his art. And this deep well of 00:05:22.709 --> 00:05:25.670 genuine emotional struggle made his performances 00:05:25.670 --> 00:05:28.459 profoundly raw. Which would have resonated instantly 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:30.779 with a generation of teenagers who were also 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:33.199 feeling alienated in that post -war conformity 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:35.850 of the early 1950s. You've got it. That's the 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:37.769 connection. Okay, so let's look at the music 00:05:37.769 --> 00:05:39.649 he was absorbing during those formative years 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:41.970 in Oregon. The sources highlight that he was 00:05:41.970 --> 00:05:44.290 heavily inspired by rhythm singers. Yes, and 00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:46.949 specifically African -American artists. People 00:05:46.949 --> 00:05:50.250 like K -Star, Laverne Baker, and Ivory Jo Hunter. 00:05:50.430 --> 00:05:52.589 And this is the key, isn't it, to understanding 00:05:52.589 --> 00:05:55.389 his pioneering status. Absolutely. He wasn't 00:05:55.389 --> 00:05:58.230 trained in the smooth orchestral stylings of 00:05:58.230 --> 00:06:01.170 the Bing Crosby or Perry Como School of Singing. 00:06:01.310 --> 00:06:03.750 He developed this highly unique style that kind 00:06:03.750 --> 00:06:06.089 of alternated between the driving rhythms and 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:09.170 vocal phrasing of R &B pre -rock rhythm and blues 00:06:09.170 --> 00:06:12.430 and a more conventional classic pop approach. 00:06:12.569 --> 00:06:15.209 It was a real fusion. But how did that sound 00:06:15.209 --> 00:06:18.230 specifically? What was he doing that was so different 00:06:18.230 --> 00:06:20.310 from a traditional white crooner of the day? 00:06:20.649 --> 00:06:23.649 Well, on the R &B side, he would often use a 00:06:23.649 --> 00:06:26.459 vocal break. A sudden shift from a smooth delivery 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:30.019 to a strained, almost broken crying sound. And 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:31.959 that was often accompanied by those dramatic 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.560 physical movements we talked about. Yes, exactly. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.360 His musical phrasing was also less legato, you 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:40.519 know, less smooth and much more syncopated. It 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:42.600 reflected the blues and jazz influences he was 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:44.660 picking up, especially from people like Billie 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:47.279 Holiday and another singer, Little Miss Cornshucks. 00:06:47.540 --> 00:06:50.000 So he was taking the emotional intensity of the 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.980 blues and applying it to standard pop song structures. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.759 That's a perfect way. way to put it. So after 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:56.980 singing professionally on Portland radio by age 00:06:56.980 --> 00:07:00.160 15, that R &B focus pushed him toward a pivotal 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:03.879 location, Detroit, Michigan. Why Detroit? Detroit 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:06.480 in the late 40s and early 50s was just a hotbed 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.279 for rhythm and blues. It offered him the perfect 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.740 environment to develop this hybrid style he was 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.060 creating. And he found a regular gig there. He 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:17.160 did. He started performing regularly at the Flameshow 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:20.439 Bar Talent Club, which was a predominantly African 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:22.500 -American nightclub. And that setting itself 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:25.480 just highlights his early crossover appeal. Here's 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:27.740 this young white man soaking up and performing 00:07:27.740 --> 00:07:30.800 R &B in an environment where that music was foundational. 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:33.079 He wasn't just performing for a predominantly 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:36.339 black audience. He was developing his craft alongside 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:39.600 these pioneering R &B artists. He was learning 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.079 from the source. And this residency at the Flame 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:44.779 is where the discovery story begins. And it sounds 00:07:44.779 --> 00:07:47.100 like it was a pretty hard sell, even then. Oh, 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:49.620 a very hard sell. A song plugger named Bernie 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:52.939 Lang brought an OK Records executive, Danny Kessler, 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:56.259 to see Ray perform. And Kessler, according to 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:58.740 the sources, was highly skeptical. Beyond skeptical 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:01.120 from the sounds of it. He was. Kessler famously 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:03.060 remarked that the kid looks well on the stand, 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:05.920 but he will never go on records. Wow. What does 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:07.860 that tell you? It tells you two things. First, 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.839 that his stage presence was immediately captivating. 00:08:11.069 --> 00:08:13.750 even to a skeptic. And second, that his sound 00:08:13.750 --> 00:08:16.769 was so unconventional for the pop market of 1951 00:08:16.769 --> 00:08:19.149 that a record executive couldn't even imagine 00:08:19.149 --> 00:08:21.189 how to sell it. It just didn't fit in any box. 00:08:21.410 --> 00:08:24.310 So it took some persuading. A lot of it. It took 00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:27.470 the urging of local figures like DJ Robin Seymour 00:08:27.470 --> 00:08:30.509 and Lowell Worley from Columbia Records to persuade 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:33.809 Kessler to even fund a test record. And that 00:08:33.809 --> 00:08:36.480 was cut at United Sound Studios in Detroit. And 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:38.440 the material they chose for that first record 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:42.539 confirms his R &B roots. It does. His first record, 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:45.539 released on OK, was a self -penned R &B number 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:48.159 called Whiskey and Gin. And the label choice 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:51.840 here is crucial. So important. OK was Columbia's 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.149 subsidiary race label. which was the standard 00:08:54.149 --> 00:08:56.610 industry term at the time for releasing music 00:08:56.610 --> 00:08:58.730 primarily aimed at African -American consumers. 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:02.230 So Whiskey and Gin was a minor hit in 1951, but 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:04.230 the label placement meant that Ray was initially 00:09:04.230 --> 00:09:07.090 categorized purely as an R &B artist. Correct. 00:09:07.129 --> 00:09:09.750 So the mechanism for his explosion, his big break, 00:09:09.909 --> 00:09:12.090 was really a commercial shift, not just an artistic 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:14.519 one. Explain that. Well, this crossover is one 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:16.559 of the most significant business decisions of 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.879 the early 1950s. Once the executives at the main 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:23.340 Columbia Records label realized that this Caucasian 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:25.220 artist, who they had been marketing on their 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:28.529 race label, was building a huge fan base among 00:09:28.529 --> 00:09:30.509 Caucasian teenagers. They saw the dollar signs. 00:09:30.789 --> 00:09:32.750 They saw the immense commercial potential of 00:09:32.750 --> 00:09:35.230 shifting him to the main Columbia label. And 00:09:35.230 --> 00:09:38.450 that move allowed his R &B -infused emotionality 00:09:38.450 --> 00:09:41.570 to reach a mass market that was just starving 00:09:41.570 --> 00:09:43.289 for something more exciting than traditional 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:46.210 pop. That crossover was the immediate launch 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:48.909 pad for global stardom. The rocket fuel. So the 00:09:48.909 --> 00:09:51.049 moment he moves to Columbia, the switch is thrown. 00:09:51.690 --> 00:09:53.750 And that immediate success wasn't just a hit. 00:09:53.870 --> 00:09:56.210 I mean, it was an absolute tidal wave. Oh, yeah. 00:09:56.309 --> 00:09:58.950 He dominated the American charts in 1952 with 00:09:58.950 --> 00:10:01.750 that double -sided single, Cry, and the little 00:10:01.750 --> 00:10:04.610 white cloud that cried. Dominated is an understatement. 00:10:04.629 --> 00:10:08.350 That 78 RPM single sold over two million copies. 00:10:08.690 --> 00:10:12.049 For 1952, that is an incredible, almost unheard 00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:14.289 of figure. He went from being a regional curiosity 00:10:14.289 --> 00:10:17.269 to a national, even international, teen idol 00:10:17.269 --> 00:10:19.529 almost overnight. And that single didn't just 00:10:19.529 --> 00:10:22.980 sell. It announced a paradigm shift in pop culture. 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:25.440 It was the intensity of the delivery on those 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:27.460 songs that really made the difference. I mean, 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.399 the songs themselves are fairly traditional pop 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:33.039 songs, but Ray's interpretation was so jarringly 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.440 raw. It polarized audiences and critics, but 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.100 it made him a magnet for teenagers. It signaled 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:43.039 that the polite, reserved era of American pop 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:46.850 music was. It was over. Exactly. Teens were ready 00:10:46.850 --> 00:10:49.429 for intensity, for music that matched the anxiety 00:10:49.429 --> 00:10:52.490 and the energy of the post -war world. And he 00:10:52.490 --> 00:10:54.429 followed that up quickly with other massive hits. 00:10:54.509 --> 00:10:56.629 Please, Mr. Sun, such a night. The perennial 00:10:56.629 --> 00:11:00.090 favorite, Yes Tonight, Josephine. He became ubiquitous, 00:11:00.190 --> 00:11:02.909 and he quickly moved into the new medium of television, 00:11:03.190 --> 00:11:05.629 making several appearances on the hugely influential 00:11:05.629 --> 00:11:07.830 Toast of the Town. Which later became the Ed 00:11:07.830 --> 00:11:10.330 Sullivan Show. That's the one. Starting in January 00:11:10.330 --> 00:11:13.190 1952, he was everywhere. But to understand the 00:11:13.190 --> 00:11:15.049 true impact, we really have to talk about the 00:11:15.049 --> 00:11:18.009 live show. This is where those names, like the 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:20.929 Nabob of Sob, came from. Can you describe the 00:11:20.929 --> 00:11:23.289 stage style that generated such pandemonium? 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:27.129 It was pure, unadulterated high drama. It was 00:11:27.129 --> 00:11:29.750 something completely foreign to mainstream white 00:11:29.750 --> 00:11:31.750 entertainment at the time. So what would he do? 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:34.250 He would fully commit to the emotional narrative 00:11:34.250 --> 00:11:37.179 of the song. The sources detail a whole range 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:39.600 of theatrics. Tearing at his hair, clutching 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:42.080 his chest, falling to the floor. And critically, 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:45.759 openly weeping on stage. Openly weeping. It was 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:49.360 this spectacle of vulnerability and passion that 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.899 nobody had ever seen from a male performer. It 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:54.159 was the embodiment of the emotional breakdown 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.220 set to music. Yes. And of course, the media loved 00:11:57.220 --> 00:11:59.740 to label this extremity, which is why he acquired 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:02.990 those incredible nicknames. Mr. Emotion. the 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:06.090 Nabob of Saab, the Prince of Wales. He was seen 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:08.950 as either a genius or a hysterical oddity, but 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:11.090 he was impossible to ignore. And his performance 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:14.730 style. It became the template for the uninhibited 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:17.409 male pop star. Which leads us directly back to 00:12:17.409 --> 00:12:19.090 the most critical claim in the source material. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:22.440 His status as a precursor to rock and roll. You 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:24.100 mentioned Tony Bennett calling him the father 00:12:24.100 --> 00:12:26.419 of rock and roll. I did. But Ray wasn't playing 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:29.279 with distorted guitars or a heavy backbeat. So 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:31.860 how can he claim that title? What exactly does 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.840 proto -rock even mean in this context? That is 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.740 the crucial analytical distinction to make. Proto 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:40.840 -rock, or pre -rock in Ray's case, is defined 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.500 not by the instrumentation. But by the performance 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:45.580 style. The performance style and the audience 00:12:45.580 --> 00:12:48.639 response. True rock and roll, like Elvis or Chuck 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.659 Berry, brought in a new beat, a new volume, new 00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:54.399 instruments. Ray introduced the attitude and 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:56.519 the physical release that made those later musical 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.379 innovations palatable for a mass audience. Okay, 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.039 so Ray's contribution was establishing the psychological 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:04.679 and performative space for rock and roll to exist. 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:08.179 Absolutely. He legitimized the idea of a white 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:12.039 male performer expressing raw, overt, and uninhibited 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.309 emotion bordering on hysteria on stage. And that 00:13:15.309 --> 00:13:17.769 was a direct channel to the overt sexual energy 00:13:17.769 --> 00:13:19.830 that would come to define early rock and roll. 00:13:19.950 --> 00:13:22.389 A direct line. British hit singles and albums 00:13:22.389 --> 00:13:24.629 noted that his delivery influenced many acts, 00:13:24.750 --> 00:13:27.029 including Elvis, and made him the prime target 00:13:27.029 --> 00:13:29.870 for teen hysteria in the pre -Presley days. We 00:13:29.870 --> 00:13:32.370 even know his manager confirmed that Elvis Presley 00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:34.669 himself frequently watched Johnny's concerts. 00:13:34.730 --> 00:13:37.370 He did. So Elvis took that emotional template, 00:13:37.529 --> 00:13:40.110 he added the country and gospel rhythms he grew 00:13:40.110 --> 00:13:44.389 up with, and he fused it with Ray's theatricality. 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:47.480 Without Johnny Ray showing that vulnerability 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:50.419 and that physical intensity could sell two million 00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:53.460 records, the landscape Elvis walked into would 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.159 have been much, much less receptive. It's logical, 00:13:56.179 --> 00:13:58.419 then, that with that kind of stardom, Hollywood 00:13:58.419 --> 00:14:00.980 would come calling. Though his film career was, 00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:04.100 uh... decidedly brief very brief he made his 00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:07.080 first and most widely seen film there's no business 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.980 like show business in 1954 and that film itself 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:12.700 is a fascinating historical footnote it was a 00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:16.159 massive ensemble cast oh huge Ethel Merman, Dan 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:18.879 Daly, Donald O 'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, and of 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.440 course Marilyn Monroe. And Ray was cast essentially 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:24.440 as himself, the emotional singer. He seemed poised 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:26.740 for a seamless transition to screen stardom, 00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:29.039 but it just never materialized. It never happened. 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:31.059 He only made one other film appearance years 00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:33.720 later, a small cameo in a film called Rogue's 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.580 Gallery in 1968. And even that film had a tragic 00:14:36.580 --> 00:14:39.580 distribution path. It did. It was quickly withdrawn 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:43.679 from theaters and only telecast in 1972. It never 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:45.980 got a wide release. And the sources say that 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:48.299 when he was asked in the 1980s why he didn't 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:50.460 make more films, he had a pretty blunt answer. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:53.159 Brutally honest and simple. He just replied, 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:56.990 I was never asked. Wow. His intensity, which 00:14:56.990 --> 00:14:59.230 was perfect for a brief dramatic stage appearance, 00:14:59.389 --> 00:15:01.610 may have been too much for sustained cinematic 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:04.269 storytelling. Or, you know, maybe the controversies 00:15:04.269 --> 00:15:06.389 that began to swirl around him made him a poor 00:15:06.389 --> 00:15:08.990 long -term investment for the major studios. 00:15:09.309 --> 00:15:12.389 His true defining medium was always the stage. 00:15:12.669 --> 00:15:15.049 Always. Where the intensity of his presence could 00:15:15.049 --> 00:15:17.730 overwhelm any narrative structure. This shift 00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:19.850 brings us to the great contradiction of Johnny 00:15:19.850 --> 00:15:22.600 Ray's life. The intensity of his American fame 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:25.440 in 1952 was matched only by the speed of its 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.659 dissipation. It was a brutal fall from grace 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:29.980 in the States. His career in the US started declining 00:15:29.980 --> 00:15:33.720 significantly by 1957. Right. He helped lay the 00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:36.080 groundwork for rock and roll. But once that real 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:38.559 seismic shift happened, once Elvis and Little 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.240 Richard and all the others took over the charts, 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.980 the very market that Ray himself had created 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:46.580 kind of turned against him. So by 1960, his American 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:49.320 record label, Columbia, dropped him completely. 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:52.259 They did. His sound, which had been so radical 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:56.720 and new in 1952, sounded dated by 1957. He was 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:58.879 caught in this limbo between the old pop world 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.919 and the new rock energy. And the evidence of 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:03.779 his disappearance from the American scene is 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:06.299 stark. He rarely appeared on American television 00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:09.399 after 1973. And his final U .S. TV appearance 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:12.600 was on a syndicated Shawneena broadcast in 1977. 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:15.840 I mean, think about that. His time as a U .S. 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:18.320 mainstream celebrity was over barely five years 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.299 after it began. And this is where the global 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:22.720 story becomes so fascinating. While the U .S. 00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:24.620 audience was moving on to pure rock and roll, 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:27.179 Ray was building a second, far more sustained 00:16:27.179 --> 00:16:29.679 career abroad. His popularity in the U .K. and 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.600 Australia remained immense. It was loyal. And 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.700 he wasn't just doing nostalgia tours over there 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:36.919 either. He scored a major number one hit in the 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:40.440 U .K. in 1956 with Just Walking in the Rain. 00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:42.779 Which is so interesting because the sources note. 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:46.539 He initially disliked that song. Why? He perhaps 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:49.179 found it too conventional, you know, too reserved 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:52.080 compared to his usual high drama material. But 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:54.940 that fact illuminates a key cultural difference, 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.759 doesn't it? It does. The British audience seemed 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.279 less interested in that strict line between pop 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:02.340 and rock and roll that was emerging in the U 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:05.700 .S. They appreciated Ray's sincerity and his 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:08.569 drama. regardless of the underlying genre. They 00:17:08.569 --> 00:17:10.970 saw him as the quintessential American entertainer 00:17:10.970 --> 00:17:13.329 and they rewarded his loyalty. He was so popular 00:17:13.329 --> 00:17:15.490 there that he broke the attendance record at 00:17:15.490 --> 00:17:17.769 the prestigious London Palladium. A record previously 00:17:17.769 --> 00:17:20.730 held by another huge American star, Frankie Lane. 00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:23.269 Exactly. To hold the attendance record at the 00:17:23.269 --> 00:17:25.309 London Palladium speaks to the sheer drawing 00:17:25.309 --> 00:17:27.430 power he still possessed. And this international 00:17:27.430 --> 00:17:30.009 loyalty was vital for him. It provided a reliable 00:17:30.009 --> 00:17:33.029 income and an emotional boost for decades. A 00:17:33.029 --> 00:17:36.319 lifeline. He retained huge, dedicated fan bases 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:39.180 in places like Australia and the UK right up 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:41.759 until his final global concert tour in 1989. 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:45.519 The difference was that overseas, the drama he 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:47.880 embodied was seen as high art. Whereas in the 00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:50.420 U .S., post -rock, it was often dismissed as 00:17:50.420 --> 00:17:53.740 camp or just hysteria. It's a completely different 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:56.400 perception. So despite this global safety net, 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.640 his life in the 1960s was still pretty fraught 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:01.960 with legal and financial issues. Oh, very much 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.220 so. He spent time in Spain during the mid -60s 00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:07.859 trying to untangle himself from contracts with 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:10.480 his previous manager, Bernie Lang. What was the 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:13.109 issue there? Well, the sources suggest that Ray 00:18:13.109 --> 00:18:15.650 and his new manager, Bill Franklin, believe Lang 00:18:15.650 --> 00:18:18.170 had been dishonest and was responsible for these 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:20.609 crippling debts owed to the Internal Revenue 00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:23.170 Service. Which certainly contributed to the end 00:18:23.170 --> 00:18:26.009 of his U .S. success. Of course. That turmoil 00:18:26.009 --> 00:18:28.470 is the real backstory to his comeback efforts. 00:18:28.789 --> 00:18:32.009 By 1969, he was trying to reassert himself publicly, 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:35.049 and he headlined a European concert tour alongside 00:18:35.049 --> 00:18:38.250 the legendary Judy Garland. What a pairing. Can 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:40.650 you imagine? This period really cemented his 00:18:40.650 --> 00:18:42.569 place. in the history books of performance drama. 00:18:42.849 --> 00:18:45.450 He even acted as the best man at Garland's wedding 00:18:45.450 --> 00:18:47.930 to Mickey Deans in London that year. He had a 00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:51.589 small, limited U .S. comeback in the early 1970s, 00:18:51.589 --> 00:18:53.589 and this is remarkable because he hadn't released 00:18:53.589 --> 00:18:56.650 a new record in nearly a decade. He used television 00:18:56.650 --> 00:18:59.849 to try and reestablish himself. He made appearances 00:18:59.849 --> 00:19:02.990 on The Andy Williams Show in 1970, and critically, 00:19:03.269 --> 00:19:05.970 three times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny 00:19:05.970 --> 00:19:09.619 Carson between 72 and 73. So for a moment, it 00:19:09.619 --> 00:19:12.180 seemed like the high drama of the 50s might have 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:14.900 found a niche in the nostalgic 70s talk show 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:17.940 circuit. For a moment, yes. But those offers 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:20.180 quickly dried up again, proving the revival was 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:22.779 short -lived. However, he did find a new sense 00:19:22.779 --> 00:19:26.480 of purpose in the 1980s. In 1981, he hired a 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.380 new manager, Alan Eichler. And crucially, he 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:32.009 changed his performance style. He started performing 00:19:32.009 --> 00:19:35.509 with a small trio instead of those massive orchestras 00:19:35.509 --> 00:19:38.049 from his heyday. And this stylistic simplification 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:40.329 might have drawn the renewed attention of American 00:19:40.329 --> 00:19:43.630 critics. I think it did. That same year, 1981, 00:19:44.170 --> 00:19:46.150 the New York Times published a major critical 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:49.670 reassessment acknowledging the irony of his infrequent 00:19:49.670 --> 00:19:51.630 U .S. appearances. What was the core of that 00:19:51.630 --> 00:19:53.930 critical insight from the Times? The Times stated 00:19:53.930 --> 00:19:57.170 that Ray's R &B -infused emotional style Cope 00:19:57.170 --> 00:19:58.890 lay the groundwork for the rock and roll that 00:19:58.890 --> 00:20:00.730 turned Mr. Ray's entertainment world around. 00:20:00.950 --> 00:20:03.670 That single sentence just perfectly encapsulates 00:20:03.670 --> 00:20:06.089 the tragedy of his American career. It does. 00:20:06.170 --> 00:20:09.009 He was the catalyst for change, only to be consumed 00:20:09.009 --> 00:20:11.670 by the change itself. He paved the way for the 00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:14.190 new world, but the new world had no place for 00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:16.589 him. It just underscores the two -tiered reality 00:20:16.589 --> 00:20:20.259 of his career right up to the end. In the 1980s, 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.240 he's playing these small U .S. venues, Citrus 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.160 College, the Vine Saint Bar and Grill. Intimate 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:28.660 niche spots. Yet at the same time, he was still 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:30.599 being booked for massive venues in Australia, 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:34.640 England, and Scotland as late as 1989. The forgotten 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:38.000 pioneer at home, the living legend abroad. His 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.400 final performance was fittingly in his home state 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:42.940 of Oregon. A benefit for the Grand Theater in 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:47.079 Salem on October 6, 1989. A quiet end to a very, 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:50.059 very loud career. So to really understand the 00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:52.319 source of that high drama that fueled his music, 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:54.980 we have to address the intense and often painful 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:57.420 personal turmoil that defined his life. This 00:20:57.420 --> 00:20:59.759 includes several public and private scandals. 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:02.019 Yeah, this is critical context for understanding 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:04.700 the intense pressure he faced, especially at 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:06.609 the peak of his career. Let's start with the 00:21:06.609 --> 00:21:09.130 arrests, which the source material lays out pretty 00:21:09.130 --> 00:21:11.269 clearly. There's a pattern that begins even before 00:21:11.269 --> 00:21:15.309 he was famous. Right. In 1951, before cry ever 00:21:15.309 --> 00:21:19.150 broke, Ray was arrested in Detroit. He was charged 00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:21.789 with soliciting and accosting an undercover male 00:21:21.789 --> 00:21:24.549 vice squad officer for sex. And where did this 00:21:24.549 --> 00:21:26.450 happen? In the restroom of the Stone Theater, 00:21:26.630 --> 00:21:28.990 which was a burlesque house. He pleaded guilty 00:21:28.990 --> 00:21:31.289 to the charge, paid a fine, and was released. 00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:33.890 And because he was still obscure at the time, 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:36.690 the local Detroit papers didn't pick up the story. 00:21:36.890 --> 00:21:39.910 Noah knew who he was. But once Cry hit the charts 00:21:39.910 --> 00:21:42.369 a few months later, those rumors about his sexuality 00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:44.990 fueled by his overtly emotional and theatrical 00:21:44.990 --> 00:21:48.500 stage presence began to spread nationally. What 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:51.019 followed was a highly public maneuver, one that 00:21:51.019 --> 00:21:53.119 just speaks volumes about the constraints placed 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:56.480 on gay or bisexual public figures in the 1950s. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:59.640 A classic move for the era. In May 1952, at the 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:02.579 absolute height of his U .S. fame, Ray married 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:04.980 Marilyn Morrison. The daughter of the owner of 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:07.180 the famous Malcombo nightclub. That's right. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.700 The wedding was a major PR spectacle. The New 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:11.980 York Daily News put it right on the cover. It 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:14.119 was a classic beard marriage, wasn't it? I mean, 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:16.359 a transparent attempt to quell the rumors that 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:19.480 threatened to derail his career in a deeply conservative 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:23.059 America. It seems so. The sources indicate that 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:25.500 Morrison was fully aware of the 1951 arrest. 00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:27.960 She even reportedly told a friend that she would 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:29.740 straighten it out. The implication being that 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:32.039 she would help him conform to public expectations. 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.079 But the strain of maintaining that facade was 00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:38.259 just impossible. The marriage lasted barely a 00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:41.740 year. They separated in 1953 and were divorced 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:45.740 by 1954. And Ray himself, in a 1953 interview, 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:48.660 he blamed the rumors about his sexuality for 00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:51.180 the breakup. He did, although several biographers 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:52.920 later concluded that the marriage was almost 00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:55.200 certainly undertaken under false pretenses from 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:57.259 the very beginning. And the trouble didn't stop 00:22:57.259 --> 00:23:00.700 there. No. In 1959, Ray was arrested again in 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:03.230 Detroit. this time for soliciting an undercover 00:23:03.230 --> 00:23:05.789 officer at a place called the Brass Rail. Which 00:23:05.789 --> 00:23:08.150 was described by some as a known gay bar and 00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:10.809 a hangout for musicians. Exactly. However, in 00:23:10.809 --> 00:23:12.970 this instance, he was found not guilty at trial. 00:23:13.609 --> 00:23:16.509 But the pattern, it just highlights the constant 00:23:16.509 --> 00:23:18.849 legal and social danger he was living under. 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:21.039 The reality of his private life wasn't really 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:22.819 confirmed until after he died. That's right. 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.460 Biographers two years after he passed away confirmed 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:28.319 that Ray was bisexual. They revealed he'd maintained 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:30.859 a long term committed relationship with his manager 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:35.579 Bill Franklin from 1963 to 1976. And that relationship 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:39.079 notably started years after his brief explosive 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:41.680 marriage. It puts the sham marriage in stark 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.960 context. A temporary public sacrifice designed 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:47.160 to protect a career that was built on emotional 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:50.170 truth yet forced to operate under social deception. 00:23:50.450 --> 00:23:53.349 And adding another layer of complex hidden drama 00:23:53.349 --> 00:23:56.509 to his private life is his close friendship with 00:23:56.509 --> 00:23:59.009 the celebrated and controversial journalist Dorothy 00:23:59.009 --> 00:24:01.650 Kilgallen. Yes, which lasted until her unexpected 00:24:01.650 --> 00:24:04.690 death in 1965. This friendship has generated 00:24:04.690 --> 00:24:06.990 some extraordinary claims in recent years, specifically 00:24:06.990 --> 00:24:09.410 regarding Kilgallen's personal life. It has. 00:24:09.569 --> 00:24:12.250 A researcher named Mark Shaw has posited that 00:24:12.250 --> 00:24:14.650 Ray actually fathered Kilgallen's youngest child, 00:24:14.910 --> 00:24:17.970 Carrie Colmar, who was born in 1954. And what's 00:24:17.970 --> 00:24:20.049 the basis for that claim? The claim is based 00:24:20.049 --> 00:24:22.750 on Shaw's research suggesting that the Kilgallen 00:24:22.750 --> 00:24:24.869 marriage had become purely a business arrangement 00:24:24.869 --> 00:24:27.569 after she discovered her husband's infidelity 00:24:27.569 --> 00:24:30.970 in 1953. And Shaw further notes that Colmar's 00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:33.329 husband disowned the child after her death, which 00:24:33.329 --> 00:24:35.809 just adds to the intrigue. It's an assertion 00:24:35.809 --> 00:24:38.369 that, while controversial and rooted in decades 00:24:38.369 --> 00:24:41.309 later research, really speaks to the incredible 00:24:41.309 --> 00:24:44.250 hidden life Ray lived parallel to his public 00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:47.549 persona. Did Ray ever address this specific claim? 00:24:47.890 --> 00:24:51.009 Never. According to his later manager, Alan Eichler, 00:24:51.130 --> 00:24:53.910 Ray was completely devastated by Kilgallen's 00:24:53.910 --> 00:24:57.990 death in 1965. but he never spoke about or acknowledged 00:24:57.990 --> 00:25:00.410 the persistent rumors that he had fathered the 00:25:00.410 --> 00:25:02.609 child. So whether true or not, Ray maintained 00:25:02.609 --> 00:25:05.289 absolute silence on it. Kept the secret buried. 00:25:05.630 --> 00:25:08.569 It's a fascinating, unresolved biographical mystery 00:25:08.569 --> 00:25:11.730 that further cements that high drama label that 00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:14.250 was applied to his entire existence. Beyond the 00:25:14.250 --> 00:25:16.769 drama of his relationships and arrests, Ray struggled 00:25:16.769 --> 00:25:19.410 intensely with alcoholism throughout his life. 00:25:19.690 --> 00:25:22.349 Yes, though this was generally hidden from the 00:25:22.349 --> 00:25:24.529 public eye during the peak of his 1950s fame. 00:25:25.250 --> 00:25:27.930 We do know, however, that he was arrested for 00:25:27.930 --> 00:25:31.329 public intoxication in Boston in September 1952. 00:25:31.410 --> 00:25:34.450 Which was right after his major breakthrough. 00:25:34.569 --> 00:25:36.609 Right at the start. The arc of his health is 00:25:36.609 --> 00:25:39.049 just tragic. And it also intersects directly 00:25:39.049 --> 00:25:42.390 with his professional low points. In 1960, the 00:25:42.390 --> 00:25:44.349 year Columbia dropped him, he was hospitalized 00:25:44.349 --> 00:25:46.930 for tuberculosis. And according to his biographer, 00:25:47.029 --> 00:25:49.670 Johnny Whiteside, after this recovery, Ray quit 00:25:49.670 --> 00:25:52.470 drinking completely. Yes, leading to a period 00:25:52.470 --> 00:25:54.809 of sobriety that lasted several years, which 00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:57.150 coincided with his absence from American media. 00:25:57.349 --> 00:26:00.029 But that period of sobriety was interrupted tragically. 00:26:00.130 --> 00:26:03.490 In 1969, shortly after returning from that European 00:26:03.490 --> 00:26:06.210 tour with Judy Garland, a doctor gave him some 00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:09.220 terrible advice. Just the worst. The doctor advised 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:11.380 Ray that he could drink an occasional glass of 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:13.720 wine. And Ray took that permission and, unfortunately, 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:16.720 resumed drinking heavily. Yes, and this led to 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:19.259 a steep and final decline in his health, even 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:21.700 as he continued to tour internationally due to 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:24.480 that enduring overseas loyalty. The years of 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:26.920 hard drinking severely damaged his liver. His 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:28.960 poor health finally forced him off the stage 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:30.900 and into Cedars -Sinai Medical Center in Los 00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:34.380 Angeles in early 1990. And he died shortly thereafter 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:39.200 on February 24, 1990, at age 63. The cause was 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.740 hepatic encephalopathy. Which is a degenerative 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:44.240 neurological condition resulting from liver failure. 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:47.240 A final dramatic curtain call for a man who lived 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:50.579 his life defined by emotional extremity. He was 00:26:50.579 --> 00:26:52.759 ultimately laid to rest back in his home state 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:55.809 at Hopewell Cemetery near Hopewell, Oregon. So 00:26:55.809 --> 00:26:57.630 when you step back and look at the totality of 00:26:57.630 --> 00:27:00.269 Johnny Ray, the pioneering mix of R &B and pop, 00:27:00.509 --> 00:27:03.009 the emotional intensity, the theatricality, the 00:27:03.009 --> 00:27:05.789 tragedy, it's clear why his influence stretches 00:27:05.789 --> 00:27:08.150 so far beyond the five or six years he was a 00:27:08.150 --> 00:27:10.210 dominant chart presence in the U .S. Absolutely. 00:27:10.329 --> 00:27:12.950 His melancholic songs and his dramatic stage 00:27:12.950 --> 00:27:15.809 performances became the DNA for the modern emotional 00:27:15.809 --> 00:27:18.329 pop star. The roster of artists he influenced 00:27:18.329 --> 00:27:21.119 is just staggering. It is. We're talking about 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:23.660 the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Elton 00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:25.960 John, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey. I mean, these 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:28.619 are figures across multiple decades who built 00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:31.579 their careers in part on the foundations of emotional 00:27:31.579 --> 00:27:34.460 vulnerability and theatrical sincerity that Ray 00:27:34.460 --> 00:27:36.759 established. Let's focus on that Dylan connection 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:38.700 for a second because the source material provides 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:41.960 such an illuminating quote. Dylan cited Ray as 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:44.180 an influence before he ever listened to rock 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:47.400 and roll. or Hank Williams. And this detail is 00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:49.500 so often missed in the standard music history 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:52.220 narrative. Dylan said, and I'm quoting here, 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:55.200 he was the first singer whose voice and style, 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:58.019 I guess, I totally fell in love with. I loved 00:27:58.019 --> 00:28:00.690 his style, wanted to dress like him too. That 00:28:00.690 --> 00:28:03.309 quote positions Ray as a foundational influence 00:28:03.309 --> 00:28:06.329 on the greatest lyricist of his generation, not 00:28:06.329 --> 00:28:08.710 just some early pioneer of performance. Exactly. 00:28:08.789 --> 00:28:12.210 He taught Dylan the power of that raw, uninhibited 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:15.289 emotional delivery, that sense of a singer exposing 00:28:15.289 --> 00:28:18.769 their soul on stage. This is key to understanding 00:28:18.769 --> 00:28:21.549 how Ray bridged the gap between the Tin Pan Alley 00:28:21.549 --> 00:28:24.170 generation and the singer -songwriter era that 00:28:24.170 --> 00:28:26.630 followed. Ray showed that the performance itself 00:28:26.630 --> 00:28:30.390 could be an act of profound self -exposure. Elton 00:28:30.390 --> 00:28:33.309 John and Leonard Cohen later drew on this melancholic 00:28:33.309 --> 00:28:36.009 sincerity. And Morrissey, of course, the ultimate 00:28:36.009 --> 00:28:39.710 nabob of sob for the 1980s. He basically inherited 00:28:39.710 --> 00:28:42.849 Ray's crown as the purveyor of depression -fest 00:28:42.849 --> 00:28:45.970 pop music. He did. Ray established the archetype 00:28:45.970 --> 00:28:48.930 of the brooding, intense, deeply feeling male 00:28:48.930 --> 00:28:51.490 artist. And his influence isn't just felt in 00:28:51.490 --> 00:28:53.789 the artistic lineage, it's woven into pop culture 00:28:53.789 --> 00:28:56.369 references across the globe, especially in places 00:28:56.369 --> 00:28:58.980 where his popularity remained high. Dexy's Midnight 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:02.640 Runner's massive 1982 hit, Come On Eileen, is 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.180 the perfect example. It's one of the best popular 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:07.599 culture references to Ray. The lyrics specifically 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:10.180 mention him. Poor old Johnny Ray sounded sad 00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:12.660 upon the radio, moved a million hearts in mono. 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:14.920 And the choice of the word mono just perfectly 00:29:14.920 --> 00:29:17.920 evokes the sound of those original 78 RPM hits. 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:20.420 To drive the point home, archival footage of 00:29:20.420 --> 00:29:22.759 Ray arriving at London Heathrow was actually 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:25.910 used in the song's iconic music video. That moment 00:29:25.910 --> 00:29:28.269 in the video ensures that a whole new generation, 00:29:28.549 --> 00:29:31.369 who may never have heard Cry, still recognize 00:29:31.369 --> 00:29:34.450 the image of this high -drama American star who 00:29:34.450 --> 00:29:36.950 is always weeping. And Billy Idol followed suit 00:29:36.950 --> 00:29:40.549 years later. In his 1986 song, Don't Need a Gun, 00:29:40.809 --> 00:29:42.589 Ray is not only name -checked in the lyrics, 00:29:42.670 --> 00:29:45.109 but Ray himself appeared in the music video as 00:29:45.109 --> 00:29:47.430 a taxi cab driver, which just speaks volumes 00:29:47.430 --> 00:29:50.470 about his status at the time. He was recognized 00:29:50.470 --> 00:29:52.710 enough to be included in a major rock star's 00:29:52.710 --> 00:29:54.650 video, but he's playing the part of a working 00:29:54.650 --> 00:29:58.190 man, a nod, perhaps, to his obscurity in the 00:29:58.190 --> 00:30:01.029 U .S. And for sheer historical trivia, he holds 00:30:01.029 --> 00:30:03.630 a distinct place in pop music history, being 00:30:03.630 --> 00:30:06.230 mentioned in the very first verse of Billy Joel's 00:30:06.230 --> 00:30:09.009 1989 hit, We Didn't Start the Fire. The verse 00:30:09.009 --> 00:30:11.109 that catalogs the major cultural events of the 00:30:11.109 --> 00:30:12.990 late 40s and early 50s. He's right in there. 00:30:13.109 --> 00:30:14.930 And let's also remember his contemporaries who 00:30:14.930 --> 00:30:17.930 immortalized his style, Eartha Kitt. A fellow 00:30:17.930 --> 00:30:20.430 master of vocal dramatics, she referenced him 00:30:20.430 --> 00:30:23.349 in two different songs. In Monotonous, she sang, 00:30:23.509 --> 00:30:26.789 I even made Johnny Ray smile for me. And in I 00:30:26.789 --> 00:30:29.029 Want to Be Evil, she declared, I want to sing 00:30:29.029 --> 00:30:31.450 songs like The Guy Who Cries. Which demonstrates 00:30:31.450 --> 00:30:34.450 how immediately iconic and recognizable his stage 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:38.150 persona was. It was already fodder for satire 00:30:38.150 --> 00:30:40.910 and adoration at the same time. And his music 00:30:40.910 --> 00:30:44.410 remains relevant today, often sampled and recontextualized. 00:30:44.829 --> 00:30:47.509 Portishead, the trip -hop pioneers, sampled his 00:30:47.509 --> 00:30:50.589 I'll Never Fall in Love Again in their 1994 song, 00:30:50.730 --> 00:30:53.630 Biscuit. His legacy is preserved not just through 00:30:53.630 --> 00:30:56.529 references, but in physical form. He received 00:30:56.529 --> 00:30:58.869 a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. 00:30:59.349 --> 00:31:02.089 And his large catalog is kept in continual release 00:31:02.089 --> 00:31:04.910 worldwide by giants like Sony Music Entertainment. 00:31:05.509 --> 00:31:07.789 For the real collectors, Bear Family Records 00:31:07.789 --> 00:31:11.109 issued two comprehensive five -CD sets of his 00:31:11.109 --> 00:31:14.339 entire body of work in 1999. which ensures that 00:31:14.339 --> 00:31:16.480 those thousands of recordings are preserved for 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:19.039 future analysis. And this preservation allows 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.660 for the necessary scholarly reassessment, which 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:23.799 often circles back to that central paradox of 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:26.180 his contemporary obscurity versus his historical 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:28.599 importance. Music journalist Robert A. Rodriguez, 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:31.440 writing in 2006, really drove this point home. 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:34.220 Rodriguez's assessment is perfect for positioning 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:37.680 Ray for a modern audience. He wrote, though barely 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:40.609 remembered today, To the 50s, record -buying 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:42.970 public Ray was something of a former day Leonard 00:31:42.970 --> 00:31:46.509 Cohen or a Morrissey, creating a body of work 00:31:46.509 --> 00:31:48.710 that was the very definition of Depression Fest. 00:31:48.990 --> 00:31:52.049 That comparison, Cohen or Morrissey, is so powerful 00:31:52.049 --> 00:31:55.130 because it moves him out of the 50s novelty bin 00:31:55.130 --> 00:31:57.410 and places him firmly in the tradition of the 00:31:57.410 --> 00:32:00.470 deeply melancholic, intense, and brilliant songwriter, 00:32:00.630 --> 00:32:03.390 someone whose art is defined by sadness. And 00:32:03.390 --> 00:32:05.309 finally, we have to return to the source of his 00:32:05.309 --> 00:32:08.849 profound vulnerability, his deafness. Scholar 00:32:08.849 --> 00:32:11.309 Cheryl Hare summarized the importance of that 00:32:11.309 --> 00:32:13.589 physical reality to his style. What'd she say? 00:32:13.789 --> 00:32:16.349 She noted that Ray was a singer whose hearing 00:32:16.349 --> 00:32:18.569 range appears literally to have defined the contour 00:32:18.569 --> 00:32:20.869 of his performance, the nature of his short -lived 00:32:20.869 --> 00:32:23.769 popularity, and his enduring iconic status in 00:32:23.769 --> 00:32:25.769 pre -rock and proto -rock. So his disability 00:32:25.769 --> 00:32:28.430 didn't just affect his career. It created it. 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:31.859 It's a powerful final analysis showing that the 00:32:31.859 --> 00:32:34.500 physical challenge of his deafness was inseparable 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:37.220 from the emotional power he generated, making 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:39.960 him this unique cultural phenomenon that both 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:42.279 exploded onto the scene and then quickly burned 00:32:42.279 --> 00:32:44.880 out in his home country. What an incredible journey 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:47.759 into a forgotten history. We found that Johnny 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:50.819 Ray was truly the crucial emotional bridge between 00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:53.180 the reserved crooners of traditional pop music 00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:56.299 and the raw, uninhibited energy of the rock and 00:32:56.299 --> 00:32:58.430 roll that followed. He was a performer whose 00:32:58.430 --> 00:33:01.329 deeply troubled and complex personal life, defined 00:33:01.329 --> 00:33:03.670 by his deafness, his need to hide his sexuality, 00:33:03.930 --> 00:33:07.009 his arrests, his struggle with alcoholism, was 00:33:07.009 --> 00:33:09.269 not just tangential to his career. Not at all. 00:33:09.390 --> 00:33:12.369 It actively fueled the high drama stage theatrics 00:33:12.369 --> 00:33:15.089 that made him an international idol and critically 00:33:15.089 --> 00:33:17.710 helped revolutionize the presentation of popular 00:33:17.710 --> 00:33:20.490 music. His hyperfast dominance in the U .S. charts 00:33:20.490 --> 00:33:23.029 highlights the volatility of popular music tastes 00:33:23.029 --> 00:33:25.970 in the early 1950s. The audience was ready for 00:33:25.970 --> 00:33:28.029 change, but they quickly moved past the pioneer 00:33:28.029 --> 00:33:30.710 once the genre he helped launch arrived in full 00:33:30.710 --> 00:33:33.589 force. Yet his sustained and intense popularity 00:33:33.589 --> 00:33:36.390 overseas reminds us that true artistic sincerity, 00:33:36.609 --> 00:33:39.410 when it's paired with unforgettable drama, often 00:33:39.410 --> 00:33:41.950 finds a loyal audience far beyond the cultural 00:33:41.950 --> 00:33:44.809 spotlight of its origin. It really does. So what 00:33:44.809 --> 00:33:46.970 does this all mean for you, the listener, as 00:33:46.970 --> 00:33:50.299 you reflect on this forgotten pioneer? We know 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:53.079 Ray attributed his iconic need for sincerity 00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:56.140 to the isolation caused by his deafness, and 00:33:56.140 --> 00:33:58.460 his performances were universally described as 00:33:58.460 --> 00:34:02.119 emotionally draining. This forces us to confront 00:34:02.119 --> 00:34:04.279 a fundamental question about performance itself 00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:07.670 and the commercial reality of music. Was Johnny 00:34:07.670 --> 00:34:11.269 Ray's iconic Mr. Emotion stage persona, the man 00:34:11.269 --> 00:34:14.130 who wept and tore his hair on stage, was it a 00:34:14.130 --> 00:34:16.349 calculated strategic act of entertainment designed 00:34:16.349 --> 00:34:19.329 to sell millions of records? Or was it an essential 00:34:19.329 --> 00:34:21.750 and unavoidable expression of profound emotional 00:34:21.750 --> 00:34:24.050 and physical vulnerability? And perhaps more 00:34:24.050 --> 00:34:26.389 critically for his lasting legacy. Yeah. If that 00:34:26.389 --> 00:34:28.570 distinction is impossible to draw, does it even 00:34:28.570 --> 00:34:32.000 matter? If his unique, tear -filled style revolutionized 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.599 music and created the template for the intense, 00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:37.440 emotional pop star of the future, then perhaps 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:40.260 the emotional impact is the only sincerity that 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:42.440 truly counts. That is certainly something to 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:44.400 mull over. Thank you for diving deep with us 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:46.320 into the contradictory world of Johnny Ray.