Johnnie Ray

2 LPs ON 1 CD + 7 BONUS TRACKS

Johnnie Ray was an incredible singer whose emotionally uninhibited hit recordings in the early 1950s anticipated the rock & roll era. Ray’s performing style earned him the nickname ‘’Mr. Emotion,’’ and he became a teen idol whose popularity at its peak was comparable to the hysteria generated by Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley (though in Ray’s case, the glory was fleeting). This quintessential CD includes two of Johnnie Ray’s finest albums, which were originally released on Columbia Records and have been long unavailable. The first LP featured here is The Big Beat (1957), filled with passionate numbers such as “Pretty-Eyed Baby,” “How Long, How Long Blues,” “Lotus Blossom,” “Shake a Hand,” and “Trouble in Mind.” The second album on this release consists of the singer’s eponymous debut LP, Johnnie Ray (1952). It includes the classic “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” plus sublime renditions of some standards from the great American songbook, like “All of Me,” “Don’t Blame Me,” and “Coffee and Cigarettes,” all delivered with Ray’s dramatic and heart-wrenching voice.

These two masterpieces have been remastered and packaged together in this collector’s edition, which also contains 7 bonus tracks from the same period (“Cry,” the million-selling ballad, among them).

PERSONNEL:

JOHNNIE RAY, lead vocals, plus:

Mundell Lowe (guitar), John Ryan (bass), Buddy Cole (piano),
Nick Fatool (drums), Lucky Thompson (saxophone), The Four Lads (backing vocals),
among others.

Recorded in New York, between 1951 and 1956.
Arranged and conducted by Ray Ellis and Ray Conniff.
Original recordings produced by Mitch Miller.

TRACKS:

THE BIG BEAT
01 PRETTY-EYED BABY
02 HOW LONG, HOW LONG BLUES
03 SENT FOR YOU YESTERDAY
04 I’LL NEVER BE FREE
05 I’M GONNA MOVE TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN
06 SHAKE A HAND
07 LOTUS BLOSSOM
08 EVERYDAY (I HAVE THE BLUES)
09 I WANT TO BE LOVED
10 I MISS YOU SO
11 TROUBLE IN MIND
12 SO LONG

JOHNNIE RAY (debut album)
13 DON’T BLAME ME
14 WALKIN’ MY BABY BACK HOME
15 DON’T TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME
16 ALL OF ME
17 GIVE ME TIME
18 THE LADY DRINKS CHAMPAGNE
19 OUT IN THE COLD AGAIN
20 COFFE AND CIGARETTES

Bonus tracks
21 SUCH A NIGHT
22 UP ABOVE MY HEAD
23 PAPA LOVES MAMBO
24 CRY
25 PARADE OF BROKEN HEARTS
26 COOL WATER
27 ENDLESSLY