ART FEIN TALKS TO CROONER JOHNNY RAY ABOUT HIS EARLY CAREER

CROONER JOHNNIE RAY TALKS ABOUT HIS EARLY YEARS - BORN IN OREGON, MOVED TO DETROIT WHERE HE PERFORMED AT THE " FLAME SHOW BAR " WITH LAVERN BAKER FOR SEVERAL MONTHS - BECAME FRIENDS - SINGING R&B AND BLUES - JOHNNIE RAY TALKS ABOUT HOW THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCES ACCEPTED HIM AS HIS ROOTS WERE WITH BLUES AND R&B - SANG TO BLACK AND WHITE AUDIENCES - TALKS ABOUT BEING NAIVE AND NOT KNOWING IF SOMETHING HE WAS DOING WAS UNUSUAL OR NIGHT- TALKS ABOUT HIS HANDICAP BEING DEAF AND LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH IT AND HOW TO BECOME A DEAF SINGER - DISCUSSES HO HANDICAP AND DEAFNESS

JOHNNIE RAY TALKS ABOUT SOME OF THE EARLY SONGS HE SANG LIKE " SUCH A NIGHT" " CRY" WITH THESE HANDS" WALKING IN THE RAIN, LITTLE WHITE CLOUD THAT CRIED " I SHOWED EMOTIONS AND EXPRESSED THEM ON STAGE "

JOHNNY RAY TALKS ABOUT STAN FREEBERG'S SONG PARODY COMEDY RECORD OF " CRY" "STAN RAN AWAY FROM ME, HE THOUGHT I WAS MAD AT HIM BUT I LOVED THE RECORD"

JOHNNIE RAY TALKS ABOUT RECORDING WITH MITCH MILLER WHO ADVISED HIM HOW TO APPROACH THAT SONG " THINK DIRTY" AND HOW JOHNNIE FOUND OUT IT WAD A NUMBER ONE RECORD FROM READING VARIETY - IT BECAME NUMBER ONE WITHOUT ANY PUBLICITY

JOHNNIE RAY TALKS ABOUT HOW HE NOW PERFORMS WITH JUST A RHYTHM SECTION AND HOW HE HAD TO ADAPT TO THAT FROM USING A LARGE ORCHESTRA