Memorial Album (Johnny Ace album)

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Memorial Album
Compilation album by
Johnny Ace
Released1957
Recorded1952–1954
Genre R&B, blues
Label Duke
Johnny Ace chronology
Memorial Album
(1957)		Johnny Ace: Pledging My Love
(1986)

Memorial Album is a compilation album by the American musician Johnny Ace, released in 1957 and again in 1961. [1] [2] A shorter version, Memorial Album for Johnny Ace, was released in 1955 and is considered one of the first R&B LP records. [1] [3]

Contents

Background

The songs were recorded between 1952 and 1954. [4] Don Robey, the head of Duke Records, was inspired in part to release the album due to the commercial fortunes of Hank Williams's music after the country singer's death. [5] Many of the songs were referred to as "heart ballads" by the music publications of the early 1950s, although Ace often recorded jump blues as B-sides. [6] [7] "My Song", which was inspired by Ruth Brown's "So Long", was Ace's first number one Rhythm & Blues Records single. [8] [9] "I'm Crazy Baby" was the last song cut at Ace's final studio session; he played piano on the track and was backed by the Johnny Board Band. [10] "Pledging My Love", on which Ace was backed by the Johnny Otis Orchestra, was released after Ace's death and also went to number one, in part due to the ambiguous circumstances of Ace's death. [11] [3] "Anymore", on which Ace played vibraphone, was his final hit single. [12] [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide to the Blues Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]

In 1984, The Buffalo News opined that "one is impressed by the singer's engaging ability with both ballads and uptempo blues." [17] In 1988, the Los Angeles Times concluded, "While he still seemed to be searching for his style (the singing here ranges from a gruff blues shading to almost straightforward pop), Ace exhibited a youthful earnestness and desire that perfectly tailored him for the emerging teen rock crowd." [15]

The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD noted that Ace "used his slightly unsteady baritone to intone sad blues ballads". [14] The Rolling Stone Album Guide stated that Ace "didn't have great range, and sometimes he wobbled slightly off-key, but [he] did have presence and personality." [16]

Influence

"Pledging My Love" was the most popular R&B song of 1955; it led in sales and in radio and jukebox plays. [18] It is heard on the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets . [19] In Mystery Train , Greil Marcus referred to it as "the first posthumous rock 'n' roll hit". [20]

Memorial Album remained in print for decades, and was eventually acquired by MCA Records. [21]

The Jamaican musician John Holt covered "The Clock" for the producer Bunny Lee. [22] According to Lee, the Upsetters recorded versions of all of the compilation's tracks. [22] Aretha Franklin performed versions of "Don't You Know" and "Never Let Me Go" during her 1995 concert dates; she had also recorded covers of "My Song" and "The Clock". [23] [24] [25] [26] Bob Dylan issued his cover of "Never Let Me Go" on the Renaldo and Clara EP. [27] Jimmie Vaughan covered "How Can You Be So Mean" on his 2010 album, Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites. [28] Johnny Knoxville included Memorial Album in a Blender list of his ten favorite albums. [29]

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Pledging My Love"
  2. "Don't You Know"
  3. "Never Let Me Go"
  4. "So Lonely"
  5. "I'm Crazy Baby"
  6. "My Song"

Side 2

  1. "Saving My Love for You"
  2. "The Clock"
  3. "How Can You Be So Mean"
  4. "Still Love You So"
  5. "Cross My Heart"
  6. "Anymore"

References

  1. 1 2 Osborne, Jerry (June 8, 1990). "Johnny Ace value varies". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 15.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Johnny (January 11, 1958). "Robbie's Curtain Call". Lewiston Evening Journal. p. 5A.
  3. 1 2 Ward, Ed (2016). The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 1: 1920-1963. Flatiron Books. p. 96.
  4. ↑ Santelli, Robert (2001). The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Penguin Books. p. 2.
  5. ↑ Leigh, Spencer (2023). Little Richard: Send Me Some Lovin'. McNidder and Grace.
  6. ↑ Flippo, Chet (August 21, 1999). "The Late Great Johnny Ace and the Transition from R&B to Rock 'n' Roll". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 34. p. 19.
  7. 1 2 3 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 6.
  8. ↑ Lennon, Troy (June 8, 2019). "Ace lived fast, died young and entered music legend". History. The Daily Telegraph. Surry Hills. p. 69.
  9. ↑ Komara, Edward M., ed. (2006). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Vol. 1. Routledge. p. 6.
  10. ↑ Salem, James M. (2001). The Late Great Johnny Ace and the Transition from R&B to Rock 'n' Roll. University of Illinois Press. p. 207.
  11. 1 2 All Music Guide to the Blues (3rd ed.). Backbeat Books. 2003. p. 2.
  12. ↑ Tosches, Nick (1984). Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll. Scribner's Sons. p. 137.
  13. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. I. Macmillan. p. 52.
  14. 1 2 Hadley, Frank-John (1993). The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD. The Grove Press. p. 3.
  15. 1 2 Hilburn, Robert (February 17, 1988). "Johnny Ace Memorial Album". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 8.
  16. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 5.
  17. ↑ Bisco, Jim (December 23, 1984). "He Paid His Dues to Blues". The Buffalo News. p. E5.
  18. ↑ Bergsman, Steve (2023). Earth Angels: The Short Lives and Controversial Deaths of Three R&B Pioneers. Texas A&M University Press.
  19. ↑ Carter, Richard (June 12, 2008). "The beat goes on: untimely deaths in a timeless music". New York Amsterdam News. p. 10.
  20. ↑ Marcus, Greil (1997). Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music (4th ed.). Plume. p. 48.
  21. ↑ McNutt, Randy (1999). Little Labels—Big Sound: Small Record Companies and the Rise of American Music. Indiana University Press. p. 177.
  22. 1 2 Masouri, John (2009). Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's Wailers. Omnibus Press. p. 170.
  23. ↑ Graham, Renee (October 2, 1995). "Queen holds sway at Wang Center". Living. The Boston Globe. p. 30.
  24. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (September 13, 1995). "Aretha, Ad-Libbing Her Way to the Top". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  25. ↑ Pick, Steve (July 17, 1992). "Rediscovered Gems from Annals of Soul". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 4G.
  26. ↑ Lawson, Terry (October 14, 2007). "Soulful Rejects from Aretha's Storied Vaults". Detroit Free Press. p. G1.
  27. ↑ Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. Billboard Books. p. 449.
  28. ↑ Wirt, John (July 9, 2010). "Vaughan re-creates a musical era". Fun. The Advocate. p. 10.
  29. ↑ "The Guide: My Music". Blender. Vol. 3, no. 3. April 2004. p. 143.
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