Little Ray also known as Ray Jimenez, is an American

Chicano rock Chicano rock, also called ''chicano fusion'', is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some ...

and

brown-eyed soul Brown-eyed soul, also referred to as Chicano soul, Hispanic soul, or Latino soul, is soul music & rhythm and blues, rhythm & blues (R&B) performed in the United States mainly by Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic Latinos and Chicanos in Sout ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, prominent in the 1960s. Jimenez was born and raised in

Delano, California Delano ( ) is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located about north-northwest of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield at an elevation of . The population was 51,428 in 2020, down from 53,041 in 2010. It is Kern Count ...

, and later moved to

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

. Jimenez briefly sang with

Thee Midniters Thee Midniters were an American rock group, among the first Chicano rock bands to have a major hit in the United States. They were one of the best known acts to come out of East Los Angeles in the 1960s, with a cover of " Land of a Thousand Da ...

, another East Los Angeles band. He then performed with Little Ray & the Progressions, which became the Little Ray Revue''.''

Background

Personal life

He was born in

and grew up in the area. His brothers worked at a fast food stand, and behind the stand was a jukebox. As a boy, he would sing along with it. He would memorize songs heard on the jukebox by artists such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

, and

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

. Later he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was schooled at Salesian and Garfield High Schools.

Music career

He started singing professionally in the late 1950s. His first single, "There Is Something On Your Mind," was released on Dore Records in or around 1960. In 1962, with backing band

The Premiers The Premiers were an American garage band in the 1960s, best known for their 1964 hit, " Farmer John". Career The band was formed in 1962 in San Gabriel, California, by Mexican-American brothers Lawrence Perez (guitar) and John Perez (drums), ...

, he recorded a live single, "Shake, Shout And Soul," which was recorded at the

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating ca ...

. The single was backed with "Soul & Stomp," and released on

Tony Hilder Anthony J. Hilder (November 30, 1934 - April 26, 2019) was an American author, film maker, talk show host, broadcaster, news correspondent and former actor. In the late 1950s to the mid-1960s he was also a record producer, producing music mainl ...

Impact Records Impact Records was an American record label founded in 1989 by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers.https://www.discogs.com/label/41671-Impact-Records-3?page=1 It was once a subsidiary of MCA Records. Today, its back catalog remains part of Universal ...

label. ;Thee Midnighters Another single he recorded for Hilder's Impact label was "Loretta," backed with "My Girl." This one was released under the name of Lil' Ray & Thee Midniters. For a brief period of time, he was the lead singer for Thee Midnighters. In 1964, Jimenez left the group, (and was replaced as lead singer by Willie Garcia, a.k.a. "Little Willie G."). ;Post 1964 In 1965, he recorded a single for the Donna label. The A side was "I Who Have Nothing," a cover of a Ben E. King song, and the B side, "I Been Trying," was written by Arthur Lee, who went on to form the group

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

. Lee was also the producer. "I Who Have Nothing" also appears on the 1997 compilation, ''Black Beauty & Rarities,'' which is a compilation of early recordings by Arthur Lee, Ronnie & The Pomona Casuals, and other related artists, (including Little Ray). For a brief period, he and Thee Midnighters singer Willie Garcia formed a group called God's Children. They would record the theme song for the short lived TV series ''

Matt Lincoln ''Matt Lincoln'' is an American medical drama series which aired on ABC as part of its 1970–71 lineup. Based on a Universal made-for-tv movie called ''Dial Hot Line'',Harlan Ellison, review of ''Matt Lincoln'' in ''The Other Glass Teat'' (P ...

'', "Hey, Who Really Cares" (aka "Hey, Does Somebody Care"), written by

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signi ...

and

Linda Perhacs Linda Perhacs (born 21 September 1943) is an American psychedelic folk singer, who released her first album, '' Parallelograms'', in 1970 to scant notice or sales. The album was rediscovered by record enthusiasts and reissued numerous times begin ...

. ;2000s In 2012, he was fronting the group Starfire, which included

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

's son

Salvador Santana Salvador Santana (born May 22, 1983) is a singer, spoken word artist, songwriter, and composer. His main instruments are the electronic keyboard and piano. He is the son of ten-time Grammy winning guitarist Carlos Santana and poet/author/activist ...

Discography

* "My Rainbow" / "There's Something On Your Mind" -

Dore Dore or Doré may refer to: Geography Places *Dore, South Yorkshire, England ** Dore and Totley, electoral ward that includes this village * Abbey Dore, village in Herefordshire, England *Dore, in the district of Gweedore, Ireland * Dore Lake, ...

591 - (1961) * "Shake, Shout And Soul" / "Soul & Stomp" -

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a large force or mechanical shock over a short period of time * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...

26 IMX - (1962) * "Loretta" / " My Girl" - Impact 30 IMX - (1962) * "Come Baby Dance" / "You Can't Hurt Me" -

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

5351 - (1963) * "Karen" / "Come Swim With Me" - Faro 617 - (1964) * "I Who Have Nothing" / "I Been Trying" - Donna 1404 - (1965) * "I Who Have Nothing" / "I Been Trying" -

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

6355 - (1965) * "It's Good Enough For Me" / ? - ? - (196?) * "I'll Keep On Loving You" / "Leave her Alone" - Columbia 44287 - (1966 or 1967)You Found That Eastside Sound Saturday, May 5, 201
Eastside Legends - Little Ray Jimenez
/ref> * "Hey, Does Somebody Care" / "Lonely Lullaby" - Uni 55266 (1970)

References

External links

''Little Ray - East L.A. Superstar of the 60s''

''A Pioneer of the East L.A. Sound Lil' Ray Jimenez'', Molina & Firme

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Ray People from Delano, California American musicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Atco Records artists Columbia Records artists Impact Records (California) artists Uni Records artists Warner Records artists