Comments on: JOHNNIE RAY - “Such A Night” http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/ Lollards in the high church of low culture Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:59:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: rosie http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/#comment-463980 rosie Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:21:58 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/#comment-463980 As I'm going through an exercise in playing all of them from the beginning, in order, one after the other, it screams at me that this is the first manifestation in the charts so far of what is to come. The pop I grew up with, in an embryonic form. As I’m going through an exercise in playing all of them from the beginning, in order, one after the other, it screams at me that this is the first manifestation in the charts so far of what is to come. The pop I grew up with, in an embryonic form.

]]> By: DJ Punctum http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/#comment-440244 DJ Punctum Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:50:12 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/#comment-440244 As indeed they also banned another controversial top ten hit from the same year - Jo Stafford's "Make Love To Me!" (exclamation mark as writ-TEN on the la-BEL ten points Uncle Ted). What was she thinking? Eh? Eh? As indeed they also banned another controversial top ten hit from the same year - Jo Stafford’s “Make Love To Me!” (exclamation mark as writ-TEN on the la-BEL ten points Uncle Ted). What was she thinking? Eh? Eh?

]]> By: wichita lineman http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/#comment-439931 wichita lineman Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:15:20 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2003/09/johnnie-ray-such-a-night/#comment-439931 If Chuck Jones' leering wolf was a song, this would be it. Such A Night was first cut by Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters and later by Elvis on his first post-army album Elvis Is Back, a beautiful false dawn and, I reckon, his best LP. Johnnie Ray had hits on the 'race' - or rhythm & blues - chart, which made him more of a groundbreaker in retrospect than Bill Haley, whatever Rock Around The Clock's contemporary cinema-trashing claims. Maybe it was because McPhatter had given these two mischief makers such a lipsmacking start, but both Johnnie and Elvis play fast and loose with Such A Night, adding their own oohs, mmms, and slow intakes of breath to up the ante. "When we kissed... I had to fall in love" is such a deliciously leading line! I love the fact this went all the way to number one in the UK (it only made 19 in the US) between the spectacularly chaste pairing of Doris Day and David Whitfield; that alone goes some way to explaining Ray's pre-rock impact. I wouldn't call it sophisticated, and I don't think anyone would have described it that way in 1954. Unsurprisingly, the BBC banned it. If Chuck Jones’ leering wolf was a song, this would be it.

Such A Night was first cut by Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters and later by Elvis on his first post-army album Elvis Is Back, a beautiful false dawn and, I reckon, his best LP.

Johnnie Ray had hits on the ‘race’ - or rhythm & blues - chart, which made him more of a groundbreaker in retrospect than Bill Haley, whatever Rock Around The Clock’s contemporary cinema-trashing claims.

Maybe it was because McPhatter had given these two mischief makers such a lipsmacking start, but both Johnnie and Elvis play fast and loose with Such A Night, adding their own oohs, mmms, and slow intakes of breath to up the ante. “When we kissed… I had to fall in love” is such a deliciously leading line!

I love the fact this went all the way to number one in the UK (it only made 19 in the US) between the spectacularly chaste pairing of Doris Day and David Whitfield; that alone goes some way to explaining Ray’s pre-rock impact. I wouldn’t call it sophisticated, and I don’t think anyone would have described it that way in 1954.

Unsurprisingly, the BBC banned it.

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