Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer and musician, nicknamed "The King of Rockabilly". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his white double bass, which he often jumped on top of and "rode" while playing.

Biography

He was born in New York City, in April 1934, and lived in Yonkers, New York, during his earliest years. After his family moved in 1944 to Austin, Texas, Campi began a lifetime of performing and recording music in numerous genres, including folk, country, and rock and roll as well as rockabilly. Early on he recorded on

Domino Records Domino Records may refer to: * Domino Records (1916), American producer of early phonograph, from 1916 to 1917 *Domino Records (1924), American record label, from 1924 to 1933 * Domino Records (Canada), produced by the Compo Company in the 1920s a ...

. In the 1950s, Campi recorded for several labels, including Dot Records, and recorded the first tribute record to the 1959

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plane crash, "The Ballad of Donna and Peggy Sue", backed by the

Big Bopper Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of w ...

's band. He also worked with a diverse range of singers, including Mae West (who recorded his song "Caterpillar") and Ian Whitcomb. He rarely concentrated on his musical career exclusively, working a wide variety of jobs, notably twenty-five years, from 1967, spent as a junior high school teacher in Van Nuys, California. During these years Ray Campi were a teacher for

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and Dorsey Burnette kids. He fiercely criticized the mainstream music industry, in particular its connections with

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. His musical career took off in the early 1970s when he was rediscovered by

Ronny Weiser Ronny Weiser (born 1946 in Milan, Italy), also known as Rockin' Ronny Weiser, is an American record producer and founder of rockabilly record label Rollin' Rock. In Milan, Ronny discovered American rock'n'roll and rockabilly watching an Elvis Pre ...

, the owner of Rollin' Rock Records. Soon after, Ronny bought the double bass for him. But during the fifties, Ray Campi played on bass-guitar. After 4 days of practise, Ray recorded "Pan American Boogie" in Ronny's bedroom. Soon after Ray began touring Great Britain and Europe more often and regularly played at festivals there. He also recorded with German, Finnish, British and Dutch rockabilly bands over two decades, and produced his own albums with artists such as

Rosie Flores Rosie Flores (born September 10, 1950) is an American rockabilly and country music artist. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage. She currently resides in Au ...

, Bobby 'Fats' Mizell and Ian Whitcomb. Campi performed on several solo albums by Kevin Fennell, his lead guitarist from 1977 to 2015. Campi also performed and recorded with his longtime musical associate Rip Masters. Campi died in his sleep at home on March 11, 2021, at the age of 86.

Recognition

Ray Campi was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Early discography

Many of Ray Campi's earliest 1950s recordings were not issued until the 1980s and 1990s, mostly on European albums. But the following were issued on 45-rpm and, in some cases, 78-rpm. "Caterpillar" was considered his most popular record until his revival in the 1970s. *TNT 145 "Caterpillar"/"Play It Cool" 1956 *Dot 15617 "It Ain't Me"/"Give That Love to Me" 1957 *Domino 700 "My Screamin' Screamin' Mimi"/"Uh Huh Huh" 1958 *Domino 701 "You Gambled"/"No Time" 1958 *D-104 "Ballad of Donna and Peggy Sue"/"The Man I Met (Tribute to the Big Bopper)" 1959 *Verve 10208 "Our Man in Havana"/"Reprieve of Love" 1960 *Colpix 166 "Cry For Happy"/"Hear What I Wanna Hear" 1960

References

External links

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Entries at 45cat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campi, Ray 1934 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century double-bassists American double-bassists American rockabilly musicians Country musicians from New York (state) D Records artists Male double-bassists People from Yonkers, New York Radar Records artists Slap bassists (double bass)