''Jimmy Ray'' is the debut album by British singer

Jimmy Ray James "Jimmy" Ray (born 3 October 1970) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Career In press interviews and promotional materials, Ray cited his influence by the music of Elvis Presley and other rock and roll stars such as Buddy Holl ...

, released on 10 March 1998. He wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. It debuted at No. 112 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and also reached No. 2 on the

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Chart. Its only successful single, " Are You Jimmy Ray?", made the album a substantial success. "Goin' to Vegas" and "I Got Rolled" did not chart in the US, but had some minor success in Ray's native UK.

Musical style

The sound of ''Jimmy Ray'' is a fusion of

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

Critical reception

The ''

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'' wrote that Ray "cops Danny Zuko's greased stud looks, Michael Hutchence's white-funk hooks, Brian Setzer's '50s rocker riffs and the programming talents of Britain's best DJs."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adpated from the album's inlay and liner notes. Vocals *Jimmy Ray – lead vocals , backing vocals , drum vocals *Katy Kisoon – backing vocals *Con Fitzpatrick – backing vocals *Chyna Gordon – backing vocals *Lance Ellington – backing vocals *

The Real People The Real People are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1986. The band currently consists of Tony Griffiths (bass, vocals), Chris Griffiths (guitars, vocals), Martin Lappin (guitar), Tony McGuigan (drums), and James Breckon (keyboards) ...

– backing vocals *Jason Christian – backing vocals Instrumentation *Jimmy Ray – acoustic guitar , programming *Con Fitzpatrick – acoustic guitar , slide guitar , programming *Rich King – lead guitar, programming *Rob Tidd – rhythm guitar *Nick Nasmyth – keyboards ,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Nick Plytas Tom Robinson Band (TRB) are a British rock band, established in 1976 by singer, songwriter and bassist Tom Robinson. The band's debut single "2-4-6-8 Motorway" was a top five hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1977, and their third single, "Up Ag ...

– Hammond organ *

John Thirkell John Thirkell is a British trumpet and flugelhorn player, who has appeared on hundreds of pop, rock, and jazz recordings. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, he was on at least one album in the UK Charts continuously, without a break, for over ...

– horns , trumpet *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wembley Arena, th ...

– saxophone *Phil Smith – saxophone *Fayyaz Virji – trombone *

Brendan Power Brendan Power is a New Zealand harmonica player, composer and inventor, living in Britain. Born in Mombasa, Kenya, Power's family moved to New Zealand in 1965 where he later attended Canterbury University at Christchurch, gaining a Bachelor of A ...

– harmonica *Mark Seltham – harmonica *The Real People – percussion Technical *Finn Steele – engineering, mixing *Connagh MacLean – assistant engineering *Richard Hinton – assistant engineering *Pat McGovern – assistant engineering *Ron Warshow – assistant engineering *Matt & Matt – assistant engineering *Con Fitzpatrick – mixing *Jimmy Ray – mixing Imagery *Rick Guest – photography

Charts

References

1998 debut albums Jimmy Ray albums Epic Records albums Albums recorded at The Church Studios Albums recorded at Trident Studios {{1990s-rock-album-stub