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Roll-over-Beethoven: Johnnie Ray in context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2009

CHERYL HERR
CHERYL HERR
Affiliation:
Department of English, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The American Johnnie Ray (1927–1990) is best known for his emotional rendition of Churchill Kohlman's song ‘Cry’, a tune that Ray recorded with Mitch Miller in 1951. This song, along with Ray's own composition, ‘The Little White Cloud That Cried’, earned Ray nicknames such as ‘The Nabob of Sob’ and ‘The Cry Guy’. Although wildly popular in the mid-1950s, Johnnie Ray was soon overshadowed by his contemporaries and has been virtually ignored by scholars.

This essay situates Ray's music and his hearing impairment in the material and mediated conditions of his life. In addition to interpreting Ray's signature performances, the essay deals with Ray's childhood musicality, his appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, the influence of televangelism on Ray, cinematic contexts for his life and art, and the hearing aid technology of the 1940s and 1950s.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 28 , Special Issue 3: Popular Music and Disability , October 2009 , pp. 323 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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References

References

Arnott, J. 1999. The Long Firm (London, Sceptre)Google Scholar
‘Craig's Big Bands and Big Names’. [n.d.]http://www.bigbandsandbignames.com/JohnnieRay.html, accessed 15 May 2009Google Scholar
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Discography

Ahbez, Eden, ‘Nature Boy’. Sung behind film credits for The Boy With Green Hair by chorusGoogle Scholar
Carson, Martha, ‘I'm Gonna Walk and Talk with my Lord’ / ‘Beyond the Shadow’. Capitol Records, 2145. 1952Google Scholar
Ray, Johnnie, ‘Cry’ / ‘The Little White Cloud That Cried’. Okeh, 4-6840. 1952Google Scholar
Ray, Johnnie, Johnnie Ray On Such a Night. Delta Music, 26485, 2005Google Scholar

Filmography

The Boy with Green Hair, dir. Joseph Losey. 1948Google Scholar
Sing Boy Sing, dir. Henry Ephron. 1958Google Scholar
There's No Business Like Show Business, dir. Walter Lang. 1954Google Scholar