While Elvis Presley recorded Pledging My Love in his last studio session in 1976. Pledging My Love appeared on the Moody Blue album, which premiered in 1977 and was a #1 Country & Western hit for Elvis. However, Elvis’ single didn’t make it as high up the pop charts as Johnny’s original version. Although there were other versions of Ace’s hit, none of the subsequent versions ever hit as high on the charts as Johnny’s original hit.

Johnny’s Singles Resung Again by Music Artists

Even after his death, Johnny’s musical influence rang on in movies and in artists playing versions of his songs. His #1 hit, Pledging My Love, was used in the films Mean Streets, Christine, and Back to the Future. Aretha Franklin also covered a version of My Song in 1968 as the flip side of the track SeeSaw. Dave Allen wrote the song Johnny Ace was Dead in 2011, and another band created A Johnny Ace Christmas for one of their albums.

Paul Simon Writes and Performs The Late Great Johnny Ace

Paul Simon writes The Late Great Johnny Ace. Upon hearing this song, a boy orders a photograph of the singer. Noting that Kennedy and Lennon became the Johnny Aces of their time, Simon adds a one-minute coda by Johnny Glass.

First performed during the Simon & Garfunkel reunion conference, an audience member rushes the stage as Paul is singing his song in NYC. In Central Park, just feet away from where John Lennon was shot and killed, Paul talked to the man who rushed the stage. He later talks about this experience while performing on the David Letterman show in 1982. Halfway through performing the Johnny Ace song, one of his guitar strings broke. Simon commented that he didn’t know if he would ever sing the song again as he was so choked up from the song.

Finishing and performing the Johnny Ace song on Saturday Night Live in 1986, on the 23rd anniversary of the JFK assassination.

Listen in to discover why Paul Simon wrote the song about Johnny Ace even though he wasn’t a huge fan of the singer, how his music has affected music industry culture, and our final reflections on Johnny Ace.

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The spring of 1955 brought high billboard charting to Johnny Ace’s song, which became a #1 hit, Pledging My Love, his eighth #1 Billboard hit in R&B. In the spring following Ace’s passing, his songs weren’t only charting at the top of R&B charts, they were also crossing over into the charts of Pop music as well. With the record label’s next move to release the next of The Duke’s Record LP, their first long-play and 33-speed record, the ten-inch record titled Memorial Album for Johnny Ace.

Johnny Ace and His Memorial Singles and Albums

Accompanied with dramatic liner notes as a tribute to Ace’s music, his latest album, published after his death in the spring of 1955, music listeners couldn’t get enough of his talent. White and black teens across the country were looking for more 45 singles of Johnny Ace’s music and the record company provided them with a double EP, two 45s, named Memorial Album Johnny Ace and a Tribute to Johnny Ace, covering eight of Ace’s previous hits.

Requests for Johnny Ace Memorabilia

While the record company was selling memorial albums as soon as they were produced, they also found themselves swamped with requests for photos of Johnny Ace from fans, which poured in from all over the country. Paul Simon was quoted, “The photos were sent to the fans, post haste, with the signature at the bottom.”

The Band Post Ace’s Death

Even though Johnny was gone, the band still played out the six-month promotion cycle for music production. Duke now starts releasing a pre-recorded song that held and didn’t previously produce. With the two songs Anymore and the flip side of the record playing How Can You Be So Mean? These two songs were a cut-and-paste copy of the previous tracks.

Listen in to discover what Johnny’s band produced in the July 1954 Houston recording session, the last one before his death, how the new music which was last recorded had a different sound, and how his hit single Pledging My Love compared with other singles he launched previously.

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Johnny Ace’s song, which became a #1 hit, Pledging My Love, his eighth #1 Billboard hit in R&B. Billboard Magazine was just starting an R&B section for the new year, right after the death of Johnny Ace. The section measured record sales and jukebox plays and included buying the single Pledging My Love as the best buy for the week. Unfortunately, since the news industry ran at a slower pace, not everyone knew about Ace’s death when it occurred. This episode covers how the information about Johnny Ace’s passing moved through the music industry and listeners.

What the Press Had to Say About Johnny Ace

The Pittsburgh Courier stated, "Johnny Ace trumped his own ace, in a dangerous game. They carried his body back to the Cradles of the Blues to whence it sprang. He played well, but not wisely. That’s when the Blues walked in, and they carried Johnny out.”

January 1st, 1955, Billboard Magazine proclaimed, “Out of the many things to be thankful for on the R&B scene, Johnny Ace was high on the list - especially coming off eight hits in a row.” Although the magazine was behind in the news, they kept pitching him without letting his audience know that Johnny was dead.

After the initial publication at the beginning of the year, Billboard Magazine added an additional commentary in the following week’s publication. “The recent death of Ace gave an impetus that would have probably been heavy for sales in any case. It’s spiraling upwards at dazzling speed and is almost as popular with pop customers as with R&B.”

Producing His Last Song - Pledging My Love by Johnny Ace

We feel that this last song production was of better quality than the previous productions. The melody was tighter, and it seemed more professional. This hit eluded a culmination of skills and talents that Johnny accrued over his short and brief time in the music industry.

Listen in to discover how Johnny’s death affected his music sales, why we feel that his last love song was his best work, how Don Robey reacted to his death, and why he moved the dates of his death to heighten and romanticize the scandal surrounding Johnny Ace’s passing.

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In the days that followed, the press wrote about Ace’s death. Broadcast in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, the day after Christmas, Johnny’s death was heart-wrenching. Having been booked through the winter holidays and the months that followed, his band and Evelyn Johnson, his booking agent, had to move forward and cancel all future shows. To her surprise, many of the venues asked Evelyn to send the band, regardless of whether or not Johnny was going to be there.

The Band’s Reaction After Johnny’s Death

Cutting himself down at the height of his popularity playing Russian Roulette backstage during a winter holiday show, Johnny died in between sets during his show at Christmas time, 1954. Since his friends and band members were distraught after his death, they didn’t want to or feel like playing music.

Friends and Family’s Reaction to Johnny Otis’ Death

Johnny Borg was on stage at the time of Ace’s death, playing the piano. He and BB King had a similar opinion about Johnny Ace - he had guts, but that you shouldn’t dare Johnny to do something dangerous because he would do it.

After his death, one of his friends commented that Johnny Ace the man was dead, and Johnny Ace the Legend was just born.

Press Coverage of Johnny Ace’s Death

Although the black press and the New York Times covered Johnny’s death, the white press wouldn’t mention him or his death in the papers. The New York Times on December 26th stated, “A Memphis Tennessee Band leader was shot to death playing Russian Roulette last night, while holding a pretty girl on his lap, during a dressing room party.”

The police noted that John Alexander, 26 years old, leader and featured singer of the Johnny Ace band, died at the height of a Christmas Night dance in the city auditorium. It wasn’t clear that John Alexander and Ace were the same people, as the report focused on the fact that he died playing Russian Roulette.

Listen in to discover why Johnny’s music wasn’t listened to outside of his core market, how the southern white press affected his music career, how the white press and black press differed in their storytelling of Ace’s death, and why his funeral was delayed a week.

Postscript

Covering popular American music, The Silver Jews and David Berman, who recently passed away, will be missed as an icon of American Music. He was a songwriter and lyricist, held in high esteem for the lyrics he wrote during his career. Having recently released the album Purple Mountains, David, and his band were about to go on tour to promote the new record when he passed away. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

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Moving on in the next segment of our Johnny Ace story, we jump into a deep dive into his interesting life. It’s the mid-to-late 1950s at this point in our story, and Johnny is out on the road in Florida at a pawn shop, in a situation that would turn out to be a pivotal point in his life.

On the Road in Florida with a Gun

While on the road in Florida, Johnny decides to purchase a Herrinton & Richardson Model Six, double-action, seven-shot 22 revolvers from the pawn shop. With a nickel finish and a plastic grip, this was a classic at the time. This type of gun was a low-cost and quality type of gun. Because of their mass production and low quality were coined “junk guns” or “Saturday Night Special.”

In addition, this type of gun was known as a suicide gun. And although he liked guns, he wasn’t big on firearm safety. One of his tour band members once commented that Johnny was like a kid with his gun. He would often be seen playing irresponsibly with his gun daily. Often, Johnny would shoot at hotel signs while driving his car, fire his gun out of hotel windows, and fire at other things that interested him without thinking through his actions.

Ace’s roadie and point man often complained that Johnny would take the gun, spin the barrel and point it at him, scaring him. The roadie complained to Otis about johnny’s behavior. There were four points in his career where Johnny turned over the gun to friends for safekeeping.

Johnny Otis Falling Into Depression

At this point in his career, Johnny had gained 40 pounds in 12 months, drank heavily, and grew a beard and mustache. BB King also said that being on the road constantly was getting to him.

The Mitchell Street Hotel, a black-owned and black patronized hotel, popular with musicians coming to the area, and a place that Johnny frequented, had started a rumor that Johnny was killed in a car accident, which was not the case.

At one of the record offices in Houston, Johnny jokingly pulls out his gun and points it at Gate Mouth Brown. He tells him to stop pointing the gun at him and to turn it on himself.

On Christmas Eve, 1954, Johnny’s current girlfriend for over a year, Olivia Gibbs, a 22-year-old cocktail waitress, considered herself to be engaged to Ace, even though he was married to a wife and kids. She even purchased him a diamond ring as a present for the holidays.

Listen in to discover what Johnny does when he plays Russian roulette with his gun at Christmas dinner, what happened to Johnny Ace at the Negro Christmas show in 1954, and the eyewitness account of the last moments of Ace’s life.

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In this episode, we are at The Insanery in Music City, USA talking more about Johnny Ace and his band, along with the “new technology” of the 45 records, how records create sound from those tiny grooves, and how the 45 record industry played into music production as we chat about the history and music labels Johnny Ace signed during his music career. We also talk about the history of music technology and how the portability of music has changed the marketing aspect of music.

The New Technology of the 45-Record

In the early 1950s, the 45 record was a brand new technology. Unfortunately, the music industry hadn’t yet embraced the new tech. And because the radio stations had to buy new record players to outfit these more minor records, they were more hesitant to bring them online. During this transition from full-sized 78 records to 45s, DJs and others in the music industry were making bootleg copies of music on vinyl.

A Brief History of Johnny Otis

Johnny Ace was a singer, band leader, DJ, record producer, and television show host, among his many talents and positions in the creative music industry. Johnny had several entertainment groups, including Johnny Otis and his orchestra, The Johnny Otis Show, and the Johnny Otis Orchestra. Performing with such greats as Leon Sims and Marie Adams, Johnny left his mark on music history during his music career in rhythm and blues.

Getting His Music Groove On

Once he released his first smash hit, Johnny was picked up on the radar in 1954 by significant music companies when he was noticed by Ike Turner. At the same time, Elvis Presley also broke out on the music scene. And although Howlin’ Wolf also was an artist putting out similar music, he didn’t reach the same popularity. Nevertheless, Howlin’ Wolf was also signed by Ike Turner to a major record label. This is an essential period of time for music history as these artists introduced rhythm and blues to a white audience.

The Buffalo Booking Agency hired Ike and Tina Turner Review as a live act and booked Johnny Ace as a music publisher. The Johnsons’ were signing people onto their acts, as they had 27 acts signed on in the 1950s.

After two years and recording many singles, Johnny Ace realized he needed to batch record his music to become a more efficient music artist; Johnny and his band got the music machine down and fine-tuned it. And although they have been on the road performing live for several years at this point, he and the band aren’t hitting the charts as high as they would like. At this point, Johnny is getting tired and burned out, so he decides to change his lifestyle.

Today, the Tennesee Journeymen chapter Michael T. Davis, King of the One Night Stand, Casey Wood, and Seth West are recording in Music City, USA. Listen in to discover the history of music recording via record album, how the technology for more minor records finally caught on, and how Johnny Otis took advantage of this new technology back in the mid-1950s.

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Moving into the mid-career life of Johnny Ace, there is more success for both him and Don Robey, who now orchestrated more collaboration with Big Mama Thornton. However, Don had not openly fused both artists on a song.

With the success of Johnny came neglect of his family members whom he cut off from. This largely seemed intentional, although it may have also been a fallout of his adaptation to his musical success.

In this conversation of the series, Michael T. Davis, Casey Wood, and Seth West talk more about the events surrounding Johnny Ace's success and work with Don Robey.

In this episode, we talk about…

● [01:25] Our hosts share their current songs of interest. How events around music can add or take away from it.

● [10:22] Johnny Ace and Big Mama Thornton as Robey's biggest stars, both achieving so much success that Don's booking agency could impose a joint booking with Bobby "Blue" Bland and B.B King if Johnny was to be booked.

● [14:24] Johnny Ace and Don Robey worked together using the same formula of using an already existing hit song to create a new one. In this case, the song was "The Clock" by Johnny Ace.

● [25:50] Starting the new record label, Progressive Jazz; It would be added to Peacock records and Duke records which Don was running side by side, likely to serve as a buffer if Mattis won the law suit on Duke Records. None of the records, however, had anything to do with Jazz.

● [29:17] Bihari Brothers did "Midnight Hours Journey" with Johnny Ace which was recorded before Johnny's Fame but released after his 3rd hit. However, the track got no traction, support or attention from Don robey, the charts or the media.

● [33:25] The consequences of Johnny's stardom on his family. How Johnny had been giving no care to his wife, kid and mother over the years, even when in his home town in Memphis. However, in music generally, you’re working with people who work when other people don't.

● [41:10] Despite this lifestyle, Johnny's songs depicted sadness or loneliness in complete contrast to the love he had abandoned. An example was "Saving My Love for You" with "Yes Baby" as the B-side having big Mama Thornton who was not credited, possibly intentionally by Robey because they were in different markets.

Resources

§ Listen to “Whole Lotta Rosie” by AC/DC

§ Listen to "The Clock" by Johnny Ace

§ Listen to "Midnight Hours Journey" by the Bihari Brothers with Johnny Ace

§ Listen to "Saving My Love for You" by Johnny Ace

Taking another stride, our story moves on to Willie Mae Thornton a. k. a Big Mama Thornton, who would rise to fame after getting signed to Don Robey's record while working at his club.

Here, her interaction with Johnny Ace and the Johnny Otis band would set her up for success despite her rather crude musical personality which she intentionally held on to, making her more of an acquired taste.

In this part of the series, Michael T. Davis, Casey Wood, and Seth West expound on the largely undiscovered blend of musical inspiration from Johnny Ace to Big Mama Thornton down to Elvis Presley, all of which are still linked with Don Robey's decisions, directly or indirectly.

In this episode, we talk about…

● [02:28] What our hosts have been up to; Casey's trip to Wisconsin, Seth's new Solo record, and Michael's annoying T-shirt purchase.

● [09:54] For clarity, the Duke Records being discussed in this podcast is not the same as the one that is a subsidiary of Trojan records founded by Chris Blackwell. Also Johnny Ace here is not the wrestler from the WWE.

● [15:35] How Big Mama Thornton got signed to Peacock Records and her decision to retain her eccentricity which would play a pivotal role in her success.

● [21:55] With difficulty managing her unconventional musical persona, Robey had her join the tour with Johnny Otis' band and Johnny Ace during which she released her 4th Single, a major hit, "Hound Dog".

● [27:20] Discussing musical copyrights in music; in probably one of the first musical copyright court cases, Sun Records had been successfully sued by Robey to gain part of the royalties for "Bear Cat" which was an answer song to Hound Dog.

● [39:40] Intriguingly, after her success, Big Mama Thornton released 8 more singles but none of them could chart.

● [42:00] Why some listeners prefer a single genre compared to others who enjoy multiple genres. This explains how Big Mama Thornton was an inspiration for Elvis Presley, even though her success had been quite fleeting.

Resources

§ Listen to “Hound Dog” by Big Mama Thornton

§ Listen to “Bear Cat” by Rufus Thomas