James Ray (singer)
James Ray (* 1941 as James Jay Raymond in Washington, DC , United States ; † ~ 1964 ) was an African-American rhythm and blues singer with record successes in the 1960s.
Musical career
Ray recorded his first record in 1959 at Galliant Recording in New York as Little Jimmy Ray. The two titles You Need to Fall in Love and Make Her Mine went unnoticed and Ray disappeared from the public again. It was later revealed that he was homeless in Washington in 1961, struggling to make a living as a street singer. The songwriter Rudy Clark took him on and gave him a record deal with the New York label Caprice. There, in October 1961, the first single appeared under the name Jimmy Ray , which contained the title If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody , written by Clark, on the A side . This R&B title quickly developed into a sales success, the US music magazine Billboard gave it 22nd place in the Hot 100 as the top grade and placed it in the R&B charts at number ten. Then Caprice produced a long-playing record called James Ray , which included the title Itty Bitty Pieces . This was decoupled in the spring of 1962 and released on another single. This was another sales success and the title Itty Bitty Pieces landed on the Hot 100 at number 41. In 1962 Ray released the single I've Got My Mind Set on You on Dynamic Sound , which earned him little attention, but 25 years was later successfully covered by George Harrison . Ray switched from Dynamic Sound to Congress Records . Four singles were produced there between 1963 and 1964, but they were unsuccessful. Nothing was known about his further fate. According to various sources, Ray died of a drug overdose between 1963 and 1964.
US charts on Billboard
| Started | title | Hot 100 | R&B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/1961 | If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody | 22nd | 10. |
| 4/1962 | Itty Bitty Pieces | 41. |
US discography
Vinlyl singles
| From page | Catalog no. | published |
|---|---|---|
| Galliant | ||
| You Need to Fall in Love / Make Her Mine | 1001 | 1959 |
| Caprice | ||
| If You Gotta Make a Fool 0f Somebody / It's Been a Drag | 110 | 10/1961 |
| Itty Bitty Pieces / You Remember the Face | 114 | 3/1962 |
| A Miracle / Things Are Gonna Be Different | 117 | 7/1962 |
| Dynamic sound | ||
| Always / I've Got My Mind Set on You | 503 | 1962 |
| Congress | ||
| Marie / The Old Man and the Mule | 109 | 2/1963 |
| Do the Monkey / Put Me in Your Diary | 201 | 9/1963 |
| One By One / The Masquerade Is Over | 203 | 11/1963 |
| We Got a Thing Goin 'On / On That Day | 218 | 1964 |
LP
|
James Ray Caprice 1002, 1962 |
|
A: 1 One by One, 2 Marie, 3 Come Rain or Come Shine, 4 The Old Man and the Mule, 5 Lazy Bones, 6 (I'm Not) Guilty, 7 On That Day, 8 If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody / B: 1 Itty Bitty Pieces, 2 It's Been a Drag, 3 St. James Infirmary, 4 Put Me in Your Diary, 5 You Remember the Face, 6 Things Are Gonna Be Different, 7 We Got a Thing Going On, 8 I'm Gonna Keep on Trying |
literature
- Martin Popoff : Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991 . Krause Publications, Iola 2010, ISBN 978-1-4402-1131-7 , p. 975.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ray, James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Raymond, James Jay (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Afro-American rhythm and blues singer with record success in the 1960s |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington, DC |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1964 |