Next up in the lyrics of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire is American singer Johnnie Ray. He was a singer/song writer most famous in the 1950s. Many put his music as a precurser to Rock and Roll with his jazz and blues influenced sound.

Born in Dallas, Oregon, Ray was born partially deaf and began singing on Portland radio stations at the age of 15. He worked small nightclubs where he gained a following in Detroit before being signed to Okeh Records (a subsidiary of Columbia Records).

His debut album, Johnnie Ray, in 1952 was a hit. Both sides of his 78 rpm single hit the Billboard Top 100, “Cry” and “The Little White Cloud that Cried.”

In 1954 he appared alongside Ethel Merman and Marilyn Monroe in the movie There’s No Business Like Show Business. But he quickly fell out of favor and was dropped by his label in 1960.

He appared on a broadcast of Toast of the Town in 1952. That show changed its name to the Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. He is created by artists such as Bob Dylan, Elton John and the Beatles as an influence.

Honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 due to his influence on the recording industry, Ray would pass away due to liver failure in 1990 at the age of 63. He had an up and down career after his big splash in the 1950s, but remained a huge influence on musicians for decades after his rise.

Don’t forget to follow along as I go through the lyrics of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire. Next up will be South Pacific.