Ray, Johnnie, 1927-1990

Musician John (Johnnie) Alvin Ray was born on January 10, 1927 in Hopewell, Oregon and spent his childhood on a farm before moving to Portland, Oregon as a teenager. He became deaf in his right ear at the age of thirteen due to an accident while on a trip with his Boy Scout Troop.

Ray first attracted attention while performing in Detroit, in an R & B nightclub where he was the only white performer. He found his inspiration in rhythm singers like Kay Starr, LaVern Baker and Ivory Joe Hunter. Ray developed a unique rhythm-based style that was far closer to what would become known as "rock and roll." Listeners often assumed he was African American when his records were first broadcast over the radio.

His first record was one he wrote himself, "Whiskey and Gin." It became a minor hit in 1951, but by the end of the year Ray would be dominating the charts with the extremely successful hit “Cry” backed by "The Little White Cloud That Cried," for which he also wrote the music and lyrics. He quickly became a teen idol.

In 1952 Ray established the Johnnie Ray Foundation for the deaf, with the express purpose of supplying underprivileged children and adults with hearing aids. Through Ray's donations and donations of others, training devices for hearing impaired children were purchased and given to deaf schools and scholarship grants were obtained for the training of teachers for the deaf. In 1958 an operation intended to restore Ray's hearing left him almost completely deaf in both ears.

Ray’s unorthodox performing style included beating up his piano, writhing on the floor and what he became most famous for: crying. With a plethora of hit songs in the 1950s, he was soon being pushed aside as younger and younger artists began dominating the charts.

Johnnie Ray passed away on February 24, 1990, in Los Angeles, California from chronic liver disease.