Ray campi and his rockabilly rebels 1978

Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer, musician and songwriter, nicknamed "The Rockabilly Rebel". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his white

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, which he often jumped on top of and "rode" while playing. He was a member of the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The original Rockabilly Hall of Fame was an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville ...

Biography

Campi was born in New York City in April 1934 and lived in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

during his earliest years. After his family moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

in 1944, Ray began a lifetime of performing and recording music in numerous genres, including

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 ...

Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

Western Swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, and

Rock And Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. In the 1950's, Ray recorded for Domino Records. and other labels, including

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...

. He cut the first tribute record to the 1959

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

plane crash, "The Ballad of Donna and Peggy Sue," backed by the Big Bopper's band. Ray also worked with a diverse range of singers, including

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

, and

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

, who recorded his song "Caterpillar". He rarely concentrated on his musical career exclusively, working a wide variety of jobs. From 1967 on, he was a junior high school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. He fiercely criticized the mainstream music industry, in particular its connections with

drug culture Drug cultures are examples of countercultures that are primarily defined by Entheogen, spiritual, Self-medication, medical, and recreational drug use. They may be focused on a single drug, or endorse polydrug use. They sometimes eagerly or reluct ...

. His musical career took off in the early 1970s when he was tracked down by Ronny Weiser, the owner of Rollin' Rock Records. Ronny owned some of Campi's 50's singles and had heard he was a teacher living in the San Fernando Valley, so he looked Ray up in the phone book. Soon after, Weiser purchased a double bass for him. Previously, Campi had been accustomed to playing guitar, but after four days of practice they recorde
"Pan American Boogie"
in Weiser's bedroom. Starting in 1977, Campi began touring Great Britain and Europe, playing clubs and festivals there and gigging regularly at home in California, while keeping his teaching job. He also recorded with American, German, Finnish, British and Dutch Rockabilly bands, and produced his own albums with artists such as

Rosie Flores Rosie Flores (born Rosalie Flores; September 10, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She currently resides in Austin, Texas, where August 31 was declared Rosie Flores Day by the Austin City Council in 2006. Biography Rosie Flo ...

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

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 American double-bassists American double-bassists American rockabilly musicians Country musicians from New York (state) D Records artists American male double-bassists Musicians from Yonkers, New York Radar Records artists Slap bassists (double bass)