James Ray (born James Jay Raymond, 1941 – May 1963) was an American R&B singer of the early 1960s best known for the hit single " If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody", which went to number 10 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

and number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1962. He also recorded the original version of " Got My Mind Set on You", later a number-one hit for

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

Biography

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1941, an African-American, Ray attended McKinley High School.Mike Fenton, "James Ray – the lost soul man", ''Blues & Rhythm'', no.351, August 2020, pp.8–11 By 1959 he had relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He stood just 5' tall and first recorded as Little Jimmy Ray, releasing "Make Her Mine" on the Galliant label in 1959. It was unsuccessful and by 1961 he was destitute and living on a rooftop, though still performing in clubs. Songwriter Rudy Clark befriended him, and when

Gerry Granahan Gerald Granahan (April 20, 1932 – January 10, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work in the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Granahan was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1932. He ...

of Caprice Records heard him rehearsing one of Clark's songs, signed him. Using the name James Ray, his first recording was of Clark's song, "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody", arranged by Hutch Davie. The record was a hit on both the pop and R&B charts. The single was issued in the UK in 1962 as well, and the song was performed by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

before being discovered by

Freddie and the Dreamers Freddie and the Dreamers were an English beat band that had a number of hit records between 1963 and 1965. The band's stage act was enlivened by the comic antics of Freddie Garrity, who would bounce around the stage with arms and legs flying. ...

, who took it into the top 5 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

the year after. In the United States, Ray's single was followed in July 1962 by an eponymous album that contained the follow-up single "Itty Bitty Pieces", which reached No. 41 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart, as well as " Got My Mind Set on You", also written by Clark. An edited version was released later in the year as a single on the Dynamic Sound label. The Caprice label folded in early 1963, and Ray was signed to the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

label, a subsidiary of

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

. The label released four singles by Ray, two written by Clark and all produced by Davie, but they were unsuccessful. Ray died from a drug overdose, probably in early 1963. In an interview published in 2020, Gerry Granahan recalled that he was asked to formally identify Ray's body when it was discovered, about ten months after his LP had been released.

Covers and tributes

* The Beatles began performing "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" live after Paul McCartney heard it in one of the Nems record stores owned by Beatles manager

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

. McCartney waxed enthusiastic about it being an R&B number in waltz time, and Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn called the record's sound – particularly the unusual combination of harmonica and tuba – "magical" in his book ''Tune In: The Beatles – All These Years, Vol. 1''. * George Harrison purchased a copy of Ray's album in 1963 when he went to the United States to visit his sister. Over two decades later he revived "Got My Mind Set On You" and took it to number 1 in early 1988. *

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

included "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" on a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...

he owned in his home (the contents of which were issued as a double album in 2004 after the jukebox itself was purchased at an auction). * In 1967 a cover of the song was released by Maxine Brown. *

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

, guitarist for

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

, covered "If You Got to Make a Fool of Somebody" on his 1974 debut solo album, ''

I've Got My Own Album to Do ''I've Got My Own Album to Do'' is the first solo album by English rock musician Ronnie Wood, released in September 1974. An all-star project recorded outside of his activities with the Faces, it reached number 27 on the UK's '' NME'' chart. Th ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, James Drug-related deaths in New York City 1941 births 1963 deaths American soul singers American rhythm and blues singers 20th-century African-American male singers Singers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers