Johnnie Ray - South African Tour (1956) - SIGNED

SIGNED, Johnnie Ray Souvenir Programme, 1956 original, pictorial cover, illustrated, period advertisements, 10 pages, 21.4 cms x 27.3 cms,  hole puch to LH margin, previous owner's stamp to cover, otherwise  condition: very good.

Johnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music, and his animated stage personality. Tony Bennett called Ray the "father of rock and roll", and historians have noted him as a pioneering figure in the development of the genre.

''Since 1954 every year has been one tour after another. I've been to South Africa, New Zealand, the Far East, Japan, England. . . .''

''He's worked all the time,'' Jerry Blaine adds. But Blaine had mentioned earlier that with the advent of rock-and-roll, Johnnie, like so many other mainstream pop singers, found himself neither here nor there. So he went to Spain and spent three years there, before jumping back into performing and touring in the mid-'60s. Right from the start, Ray has had a big following overseas, where he gets a star's reception every time he performs.

''I prefer a live audience. That's why I don't do a lot more television - I can't communicate with a camera. Film is all right, but it's a terribly dull way to make a living.

''When I was younger I had a big ambition to make a lot of films, but after I made 'There's No Business Like Show Business' - as much fun as it was working with people like Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, and Ethel Merman - there was still a lot of sitting around and waiting.''