Cry [Bear Family Box Set]

Personnel includes: Johnny Ray, Doris Day, Frankie Laine.
Recorded between 1951 and 1956. Includes liner notes by Jonny Whiteside.
Personnel: Johnnie Ray (vocals, piano); Twentieth Century Fox Orchestra, Donald O'Connor, Doris Day, Ethel Merman, Frankie Laine, Don Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, The Four Lads, Mellomen, The Wolverines , Eric Rogers (vocals); Jerry Duane (whistling); Billy Mure (guitar, banjo); Danny Perri, Wallace Richardson, Alton Hendrickson, Joe Galbreath, Everett Barksdale, Ludwig Bonkowski, Allen Hanlon, Hy White, George Barnes, George Van Eps, Edward Thomas, Al Casamente, Sebastian Mure, Ben Mortell, Jack Marshall, Vanig Hovaepian, Art Ryerson, Don Arnone, Al Casamenti, John Pizzarelli, Al Caiola, Allan Reuss, Alvino Rey, Tony Mottola, Barry Galbraith, Mundell Lowe, Vincent Terri, Bob Bain (guitar); Wesley Webb West (steel guitar); Myor Rosen (harp); Mischa Russell, Julius Held, Leo Kruczek, Joseph Malignaggi, George Kast, George Ockner, Julius Schachter, Samuel Carmell, Paul Winter , David Asch, Harry Azen, Harry Hoffman, Harry Melnikoff, Felix Orlewitz, Ted Rosen, Eugene Orloff, Sylvan Shulman, Zelly Smirnoff, Samuel Cytron, Arnold Eidus, Leo Kahn, M. Weiser, Harry McLnikoff, Harry Zarief, Sam Middleman, Milton Lomask, Jack Zayde, David Frisina, Marshall Sosson, Paul Nero, Raoul Poliakin, Harry Katzman (violin); Isidor Zir, Richard Dickler, Sidney Brecher, Howard Kay (viola); Lucien Schmit, Lucian A. Schmitt, Morris Stonzek, Maurice Brown (cello); Charles Magnante (accordion); Sam Marowitz (saxophone, alto saxophone); Russell Banzer, Albert Epstein (saxophone, baritone saxophone); Paul Ricci, Pete Pumiglio, Henry Freeman, Stanley Webb , Charlie O'Kane, Gigi Gryce, Henry Beau, Theodore Nash, A. Baker, Leonard Hartman, Carl Berg, Herman Shertzer, Walter Betman, William Versaci, Bernard Kaufman, Jimmy Abato, Louis Barnett, Thomas "Beans" Bowles, John Murtaugh, Larry Elgart, Lucky Thompson, Phil Bodner, Sid Cooper, Babe Russin, Wolfe Taninbaum, Romeo Penque, Al Klink, Richard Henry , Fred Stulce, Harold Feldman, Maurice King, Charles Albertine, Milt Yaner (saxophone); Gerald Sanfino (alto saxophone); Art Ellefson (tenor saxophone); Danny Bank (baritone saxophone); Clark Terry, Conrad Gozzo , James Maxwell, Melvin "Red" Solomon, Russell Green, P. Ciricillo, Rubin Zarchy, Frank Beach, Ronald Woellmer, 726 St Peter, New Orleans LA 1955-1960, Charlie Margulis, Lou Oles, Joseph B. Wilder, R.D. McMickle, George Seaberg, W.C. Clark, Ziggy Elman, Bernie Glow, Jimmy Nottingham, Harold Wegbreit, Stan Fishelson, Al DeRisi (trumpet); Ray Alonge (French horn); Jack Lacey, Robert Alexander , Robert McGarity, Robert Dockstader, Eddie Bert, Allan W. Thompson, Al Robertson, Jim Dahl, William Schaefer, John d'Agostino, Alan Thompson , Ken Goldie, Larry Alpeter, Harold Diner, Al Godlis, Jack Satterfield, John Watson , Ray Sims, Eddie Kusby, J. Alan Johnson , William Schaffer, Kevin Neal , Robert Byrne, Urbie Green, Will Bradley, Chauncey Welsch, Cliff Heather, Bart Varsalona (trombone); Dick Hyman, Buddy Weed, Mike Colicchio, Lou Stein, Nat Pierce, Neal Robinson, Andrew Ackers, Red Mitchell, Stan Freeman, Bernie Leighton (piano); Bert Keyes (organ); Harry Breuer (xylophone, drums, chimes); Louis Singer (xylophone, drums); Sol Gubin, Frank Garisto, Hermann Grove Kapp, Joseph "Kaiser" Marshall, Jimmy Crawford , Lou Singer, Nick Fatool, Panama Francis, Phil Kraus , Todd Sommer, Terry Snyder, Ed Shaughnessy, Walter Rodriguez, Norris "Bunny" Shawker, Chauncey Morehouse (drums); George Laguna (maracas).
Liner Note Authors: Peter Grendysa; Johnny Whiteside.
Recording information: Columbia Recording Studio A, New York, NY (05/28/1951-11/21/1956); Detroit, MI (05/28/1951-11/21/1956); London Palladium, London, England (05/28/1951-11/21/1956); Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA (05/28/1951-11/21/1956).
Illustrators: Michael Ochs; R.A. Andreas; Brian Henson; Roy Edwards; Alan Eichler; Johnny Whiteside.
Photographers: Michael Ochs; R.A. Andreas; Brian Henson; Roy Edwards; Alan Eichler; Johnny Whiteside.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Paul Winter ; John d'Agostino; Robert Haggart; Stanley Webb ; Felix Orlewitz; Henry Rowland; Charlie O'Kane; Sylvan Shulman; Zelly Smirnoff; Mac Ceppos; Myor Rosen; Abraham Richman; Art Ryerson; Maurice Brown ; Isadore Zir; Lionel Newman; Alfred Newman ; Raoul Poliakin; Al DeRisi.
Arranger: Joe Reisman.
Johnnie Ray was an immediately recognizable vocal stylist whose histrionic sobbing and exaggerated "blue" notes won as many detractors as fans. But the sheer outrageousness of his performance style, which exhibited a dynamic physicality not seen again in a white singer until Elvis Presley came along, makes Ray a clear forerunner of rock & roll and an exciting entertainer who always seemed to be on the verge of losing control. Cry is a five-disc box set that compiles Ray's complete Columbia recordings from 1951-1956, including the major hits "Cry," "The Little White Cloud That Cried," and "Just Walking in the Rain." Those familiar with Ray's biography may be surprised at the number of gospel songs in his catalog, which display an outpouring of spiritual fervor as desperate in tenor as the dangerously unfettered sexuality of secular songs like "Such a Night." The fifth disc contains two complete live albums, the remarkable Live at the London Palladium (also available separately from Bear Family Records) and a later Las Vegas show. At the Palladium, Ray's lascivious oohs and ahhs on "Such a Night" drive the female audience members into a frenzy, and then, minutes later, he's singing "I'm Gonna Walk and Talk with My Lord." This tension between the sinful and the sacred is ever-present in Ray's music when heard in its entirety as presented on this box set, which makes for a fascinating listening experience comparable to the tortured oeuvre of Hank Williams. Unlike Williams, though, Ray also displays a strain of childlike innocence, as on "The Little White Cloud That Cried," that only adds to his inscrutably complex persona. The accompanying hardback book contains a lengthy essay by Ray biographer Johnny Whiteside and a generous selection of photos and memorabilia almost as riveting as the music itself. Bear Family subsequently released a second box set, Yes Tonight Josephine, which picks up where Cry leaves off. ~ Greg Adams