Johnnie Ray - Just Walkin’ In The Rain: The Very Best Of

Moved a million hearts in mono

Best known to the last couple of generations of music fans as the singer mentioned in the opening line of Dexys’ Come On Eileen, Ray has been claimed by many as the first teen pop heart-throb. Bridging the gap between Sinatra and Presley, his histrionic vocal style and sexual stage presence met with parental disapproval long before those surly rock’n’rollers came along.

Much of his material was strait-laced, old-fashioned even, but Ray imbued the songs with near manic emotion, frequently bursting into tears midway through a number (learned writer Nik Cohn once dubbed him the Nabob Of Sob). He was a frail old thing too, who took to wearing a hearing aid on stage when Morrissey was still in nappies.

The title track of this compilation is a masterclass in heartache, while Yes Tonight Jospehine is a boldly lascivious ode to the promise of getting some boudoir action – truly shocking back in 1957. It’s the tearjerkers that define Ray though, such as The Little White Cloud That Cried or the altar abandonment of No Wedding Today. Seriously, this album should come in a deluxe edition with a bonus pack of hankies.

SonyBMG | tbc

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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