Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner (February 10, 1943 – April 6, 1984) was an American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

singer. He scored several pop hits in the US in the early 1960s, and had a

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production ...

similar to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. His best known song is his 1961 top ten hit, " You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)".

Biography

Ralph Donner was born in

Norwood Park, Chicago Norwood Park is one of the 77 Chicago community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Big Oaks, Norwood Park East, Norwood Park West, Old Norwood Park, Oriole Park, and Union Ridge. The community area contains the oldest extant bu ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, United States, and sang in church as a child. He sang in local

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

s as a teen, and formed two of his own bands, the Rockin' Five and the Gents, in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. The Rockin' Five played with

Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

on Chicago television at one point in the late 1950s. In 1959, he appeared on

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...

's ''Big Beat'' program, and released a single with the Gents; soon after, the Gents toured with

The Sparkletones The Sparkletones (sometimes credited as Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones) were an American rock and roll/rockabilly group from Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. History The Sparkletones formed in 1956 at Cowpens High School in Spartanbu ...

. Donner recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of cop ...

of Presley's " The Girl of My Best Friend", along with a backing band called the Starfires. After being picked up by

Gone Records Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral ...

, Donner re-recorded and re-released the tune, which became a nationwide hit; some listeners even thought that the cover was Presley himself.Bruce Eder, Ral Donnerat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

His next single, " You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)", became his biggest, and only Top Ten, hit on the ''

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 advertis ...

'' chart in the United States, peaking at No. 4. The track peaked at No. 25 in 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 ...

in 1961. He managed a few more hits, the last of which was in 1962. In the mid-1960s, Donner recorded for

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

and

Red Bird Records Red Bird Records was a record label founded by American pop music songwriters Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and George Goldner in 1964 in music, 1964. Though often thought of as a "girl-group" label, female-led acts made up only 40% of the artist ...

, but saw little further success. He played little in the 1970s, recording occasionally, but saw some rekindled interest in his music after Presley's death. In 1981, he provided voice-over narration (in the voice of Elvis) in the film ''

This Is Elvis ''This Is Elvis'' is a 1981 American documentary film about the life of Elvis Presley, written and directed by Andrew Solt and Malcolm Leo. It combines archival footage with reenactments, and voice-over narration by pop singer Ral Donner, imita ...

''. Donner died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

on April 6, 1984. He was interred in the mausoleum of Acacia Park Cemetery in Norwood Park Township. Donner was cited by

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

as an influence at the 1995 induction of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

Discography

Singles

Notes

*A "Loveless Life" did not enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but peaked on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 17. *B "I Got Burned" did not enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but peaked on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 24.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donner, Ral 1943 births 1984 deaths American rock singers Singers from Chicago Deaths from lung cancer 20th-century American singers Burials at Acacia Park Cemetery, Norwood Park Township 20th-century American male singers