Ral Donner

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Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner (born February 10, 1943 in Chicago , Illinois , USA ; † April 6, 1984 there ), better known as Ral Donner , was an American rock'n'roll singer and songwriter whose voice was that of Elvis resembled Presley .

Life

childhood

Donner was the last of four children born to Ralph and Kathryn Donner. He had two brothers and a sister.

Because it was customary in his family to spend the free evenings at the piano together, his musical interest was aroused and encouraged early on. At the age of only eight he made his first public appearance in the concert hall of his hometown Chicago, where he sang the gospel song It Is No Secret, as part of a religious convention entitled Youth For Christ Rally . He soon appeared in the Norwood Park Baptist Church choir , which was broadcast on a local TV station in 1954. On this occasion he sang the song The Old Rugged Cross .

Career

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Girl of My Best Friend
  US 19th 04/17/1961 (11 weeks)
You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)
  US 4th 07/10/1961 (12 weeks)
  UK 25th 09/27/1961 (10 weeks)
Please don't go
  US 39 09/25/1961 (9 weeks)
She's Everything (I Wanted You To Be)
  US 18th December 25, 1961 (11 weeks)
(What A Sad Way) To Love Someone
  US 74 March 24, 1962 (7 weeks)

Donner had his first public appearance as a rock and roll singer on September 6, 1957 at a dance event in the Chicago Taft High School he attended . On January 3, 1958, he recorded his first demo single, which included the songs Miss Ann and Oh Boy .

His breakthrough came with the remake of the song Girl Of My best Friend, which Elvis had only recently recorded (which reached number one on the UK singles charts, but did not appear on single in the USA). His version came in at number 19 on the US hit parade according to the music magazine Billboard and even reached second place in his hometown of Chicago (according to WLS Radio's Silver Dollar Survey ).

His biggest hit came with the song You Don't Know What You've Got , which was released in June 1961 and reached fourth place on the US hit parade ( Billboard ) in September .

The fact that his career would soon go downhill was due to the tensions with his record producer, who was behind with the royalty payment. Therefore Donner refused further cooperation and considered changing the record company. Morris Levy, the owner of his previous contract partner, had excellent connections in the music business and threatened him with serious consequences if Donner ended his collaboration. In fact, it was extremely difficult for him to get a new record deal after that. After a tough year without commitment, he finally worked for various record companies, but rarely brought more than one single to the market for one company. The death of Elvis should move him to a comeback (see next section).

Sickness and death

In 1977 there were acute complaints in the lungs. Donner consulted the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago about this , but there was no evidence of a serious illness. In the spring of 1980 he had severe coughing attacks that never went away. He woke up one night in late August and had a coughing fit that made him spit blood. Accompanied by his wife Linda, he went straight to the emergency room at the Swedish Covenant Hospital , where his chest was x-rayed and a stain was found in each of the lungs. The further investigations confirmed the initial suspicion of lung cancer. A very competent doctor was found who brought Donner to Chicago's Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital referred where he was operated on a few times and received the best possible care. He died at the age of only 41, leaving behind his wife Linda and his two sons Ral (* 1972) and Erik (* 1979).

Ral Donner and Elvis Presley

When I first heard Ral I thought this guy sure sounds like Elvis! ( Steve Alaimo )

Though Donner was an ardent follower of Frank Sinatra throughout his life , Elvis Presley had the greatest influence on his musical career. At the age of fourteen he attended an Elvis concert in his hometown of Chicago, which left a deep impression on him. It was similar twenty years later. The news of the death of the King of Rock'n'Roll shocked him deeply, but at the same time spurred him on to a comeback, because he wanted to dedicate an obituary in the form of a song to his idol. The result was The Day The Beat Stopped , which was released as a single in early 1978 and later appeared on the LP To Elvis - Love Still Burning , on which other entertainers paid homage to the deceased rock legend.

Shortly before his own death, he was given the honor of voicing his idol in the documentary Das ist Elvis (This is Elvis).

He met Elvis personally on his estate in Beverly Hills twice: in September 1961 and in October 1962. Donner later said: “When I met Elvis for the second time, he approached me slowly and with a drooping head. As he got closer, he raised his head with that famous grin and started singing To Love Someone , which moved me deeply. He said it was a great song. "

Songs (selection)

  • A Tear In My Eye
  • Beyond The Heartbreak
  • Girl Of My Best Friend
  • I Didn't Figure On Him
  • I got burned
  • I wish this night would never end
  • Nine Times Out Of Ten
  • Please don't go
  • She's everything
  • So close to heaven
  • The Day The Beat Stopped
  • To love someone
  • Will You Love Me In Heaven
  • You Don't Know What You've Got

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charts UK Charts US
  2. ↑ Text on the cover of the LP Ral Donner: Sounds Like Elvis (Fire Star Records 1010)
personal data
SURNAME Donner, Ral
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Donner, Ralph Stuart Emanuel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois , USA
DATE OF DEATH April 6, 1984
Place of death Chicago , Illinois , USA