 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Jimmy Ray | |
|---|---|
 Jimmy Ray | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Ray |
| Born | 3 October 1970 London, England |
| Genres | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels |
|
James Ray (born 3 October 1970), known professionally by his stage name Jimmy Ray, is an English singer, songwriter and musician.
In press interviews and promotional materials, Ray cited his influence by the music of Elvis Presley and other rock and roll stars such as Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Tommy Steele. His manager was Simon Fuller, who also managed the Spice Girls and produced the hit show American Idol . Ray's recording career began as one-half of techno-pop outfit AV (Alternative Vision). The duo was founded in 1994 by Graham Drinnan (a.k.a. 'Gypsy' or 'Gipsy') who previously as a solo artist had scored several critically acclaimed techno/house hits in the early 1990s, most notably "I Trance You", "Funk De Fino" and "Skinnybumblebee". AV signed to Sony S2 Records in 1994 but no recordings were ever released.
After splitting from Drinnan in 1996, Ray went on to score a hit single in both the United Kingdom and the United States with his debut single "Are You Jimmy Ray?" the following year. "Are You Jimmy Ray?" reached No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone.
Ray released his self-titled album in the U.S. in March 1998, but the album was never issued in the UK. The song "Are You Jimmy Ray?" was successful in his native country reaching No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1997. [3]
Ray followed up in 1998 (primarily in the UK) with "Goin' to Vegas", including a televised performance on Live and Kicking Friday . It failed to enter the UK top 40, only peaking at No. 47. [3] A video for the single was made, but it (and the single) never aired in the U.S. In mid-1998, Ray went on the U.S. tour with the Backstreet Boys. In late 1998, a third promotional single and video clip, "I Got Rolled" was given minimal airplay.
In a November 2015 announcement on his official fan page, Ray stated that he was working on material for a comeback record. This was later confirmed in September 2016 on his record label's website: "La Rocka Records was created in 2016 as a launchpad for UK singer Jimmy Ray's 'comeback' album tentatively titled Live to Fight Another Day". [4] A later promotional video posted on the La Rocka Records website and YouTube channel confirmed the release date as 13 October 2017. [5]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US [6] | ||
| Jimmy Ray | 1998 | 112 |
| Live to Fight Another Day | 2017 | — |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7] | AUS [8] | US [9] | ||||
| "Are You Jimmy Ray?" | 1997 | 13 | 84 | 13 | Jimmy Ray | |
| "Goin' to Vegas" | 1998 | 49 | — | — | ||
| "I Got Rolled" | — | — | — | |||
| "Who Wants to Know?" | 2018 | — | — | — | Live to Fight Another Day | |
| "Dangerous Feeling" | — | — | — | |||
| "Per Aspera Ad Astra" | 2020 | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
Sheena Shirley Easton is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record deal and her eventual signing with the EMI label. Her first two singles, "Modern Girl" and "9 to 5" both entered the top ten of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously. She became one of the most successful British female recording artists of the 1980s. Easton became the first and only recording artist in Billboard history to have a top five hit on each of Billboard's primary singles charts: "Morning Train ", "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers and "Sugar Walls".
Jimmy Lee Ruffin was an American soul singer, and the older brother of David Ruffin, the lead singer of the Temptations. He had several hit records between the 1960s and 1980s, the most successful being the Top 10 hits "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" and "Hold On ".
Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco which was formed in 1993. Since 2024, the band consists of Pat Monahan, Taylor Locke, Hector Maldonado, Jerry Becker, and Matt Musty (drums).
Northern Star is the debut solo album by the English singer Melanie C, released on 18 October 1999 by Virgin Records. Chisholm and her team recruited several producers, including William Orbit, Rick Nowels, Marius de Vries and Craig Armstrong and Rick Rubin. Chisholm co-wrote every song.
Changing Faces is an American female R&B duo that was initially active between the years 1994 until their hiatus in 2000.
"U Remind Me" is a song by American singer Usher. It was written by Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement and Anita McCloud and produced by Clement along with duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for Usher's third studio album 8701 (2001). A mid-tempo R&B track, the song is about a man who meets a woman who seems like a nice catch, but he decides not to enter a relationship with her because she looks too much like an ex-girlfriend with whom he had a bad breakup.
Stephanie Edwards, better known by her stage name Sparkle, is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a protégé of fellow Chicago native R. Kelly. Sparkle is best known for her 1998 R&B debut hit single "Be Careful".
"Believe" is a song by American singer Cher from her 22nd studio album, Believe (1998). It was released as the album's lead single on October 19, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. After circulating for months, a demo written by Brian Higgins, Matthew Gray, Stuart McLennen and Timothy Powell, was submitted to Warner's chairman Rob Dickins, while he was scouting for songs to include on Cher's new album. Aside from the chorus, Dickins was not impressed by the track so he enlisted two more writers, Steve Torch and Paul Barry in order to complete it. Cher also later did some adjustments herself to the lyrics but did not get a songwriting credit. Recording took place at Dreamhouse Studio in West London, while production was handled by Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling.
B*Witched is the debut studio album by Irish girl group B*Witched. The album was released on 12 October 1998 under the Epic Records imprint Glowworm Records.
The English rock band the Cure has released thirteen studio albums, six live albums, two remix albums, seven compilation albums, eight box sets, twelve extended plays, and forty-six singles on Fiction Records and Geffen Records. They have also released twelve video albums and forty-four music videos.
"C'est la Vie" is a song by Irish girl group B*Witched. It served as their debut single and the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album (1998). Written by band members Edele Lynch, Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou, and Sinéad O'Carroll, Ray "Madman" Hedges, Martin Brannigan and Tracy Ackerman, it was released by Epic and Glowworm Records on 25 May 1998.
"To Love You More" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, written by David Foster and Edgar Bronfman Jr., writing under the pen-name Junior Miles. It was released as a single in Japan on 21 October 1995 and became a hit, reaching number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and selling 1.5 million copies. The lyrics are about a woman who makes an impassioned plea to her lover so that he does not leave her for another woman.
"Better Off Alone" is a song by Alice Deejay, the Eurodance project of Dutch producer DJ Jurgen in collaboration with Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebastiaan Molijn and Eelke Kalberg. In 1997, the song was released as an instrumental by DJ Jurgen on Violent Records. Later releases of the track included vocals by Judith Pronk, who would later become an important part of the Alice Deejay project. The song was included on the project's debut album, Who Needs Guitars Anyway? (2000). In 2023, Billboard featured "Better Off Alone" on their list of the "Best Pop Songs of All Time".
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. They were formed in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
Jimmy Ray is the debut album by British singer Jimmy Ray, released on 10 March 1998. He wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. It debuted at No. 112 on the Billboard 200, and also reached No. 2 on the Heatseekers Chart. Its only successful single, "Are You Jimmy Ray?", made the album a substantial success. "Goin' to Vegas" and "I Got Rolled" did not chart in the US, but had some minor success in Ray's native UK.
"I'm Going Down" is a song written and produced by Norman Whitfield, and performed by American soul and R&B group Rose Royce in 1976. It is from the film Car Wash and is featured on its soundtrack. In 1994, it was covered by American singer Mary J. Blige.
This is a complete discography of recording artist Sheena Easton, a Scottish singer with a discography that consists of 15 studio albums and 16 compilation albums. Easton released her debut album, Take My Time, in 1980, and the single "Morning Train " reached number 12 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 in 1981. Her success continued primarily through the 1980s, where Easton garnered 5 Gold and 1 Platinum album certifications in the United States, with 7 Gold singles and 20 US Top 40 singles as well as 7 US Top Ten singles. Whilst her success was somewhat limited in her native Scotland and the United Kingdom, she scored one number one album in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1981 and 1991.
"Are You Jimmy Ray?" is a song by English singer Jimmy Ray. It was released in October 1997 as the first single from his self-titled debut album (1997). The song peaked at number 13 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. It was most successful in Canada, reaching number two on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It has been Jimmy Ray's most popular single to date. Ray later re-recorded this song as "Who Wants to Know" on his second album, Live to Fight Another Day, in 2017.
American singer Cassie Ventura, known simply as Cassie, has released one studio album, one mixtape, thirteen singles and eleven music videos. She recorded her first song, "Kiss Me", with Ryan Leslie for her mother's birthday in February 2005. Leslie then signed Ventura to his NextSelection imprint, writing and producing her first single, "Me & U", that same year. The song soon went viral after made available on her MySpace page and became a club hit in Germany. In the meantime, Diddy partnered with Leslie to release Ventura's self-titled debut album Cassie in August 2006, through Bad Boy and Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 and charted within the top forty in the UK Albums Chart, where it later received a Silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry. "Me & U" peaked in the top ten of several countries, including number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent seven weeks atop the US Airplay chart, being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America selling over one million digital downloads. The follow-up "Long Way 2 Go" was the final single of the album and despite less successful in the US, it went on to peak within the top forty of various other countries.
"Dejaría Todo" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Chayanne from his ninth studio album, Atado a Tu Amor (1998). The song was written and produced by Estéfano and released as the lead single from the album in September 1998 by Sony Discos.The rock ballad details everything the singer is capable of doing for his lover. The song received generally positive reactions from music critics and is listed among Chayanne's best songs. A music video for the song was filmed and features a dark scenery. Commercially, it topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts in the United States. The track was nominated for Pop Song of the Year at the 11th Lo Nuestro Awards and Song of the Year at the inaugural Ritmo Latino Music Awards in 1999 and was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2000 Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Latin Awards.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
