{"id":6025,"date":"2012-01-04T07:34:11","date_gmt":"2012-01-04T12:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=6025"},"modified":"2025-09-09T07:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T11:15:17","slug":"poor-johnnie-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2012\/01\/04\/poor-johnnie-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"Poor Old Johnnie Ray"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Here is The Big Shot<\/strong><\/em>, a television drama from 1955<\/strong> sponsored by General Electric<\/strong>, hosted by Ronald Reagan<\/strong> before he entered politics and starring teen heart-throb Johnnie Ray<\/strong>. Johnnie Ray has been said to be the bridge between crooner Frank Sinatra<\/strong> and rock and roller Elvis Presley<\/strong>. I think the description is apt. Although the arrangements of Johnnie’s hits were often dripping with syrup, he often poured his heart out on these songs laying his soul bare particularly in a song like Cry.<\/em> I think the first time I heard Cry<\/em> was when it was used during an intro to Happy Days.<\/em> It always stuck with me. The sadness and longing in that song is absolutely haunting.<\/p>\n

Anyway, here’s Johnnie in The Big Shot:<\/em><\/p>\n