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Don Raye

Most songwriters from the 1930s by no means figured — as well as planned about figuring — in the annals of rock and roll & roll. Several bluesmen got lucky (and Big Joe Williams and Willie Dixon got actually lucky, as performers and composers); and once in awhile Irving Berlin’s or Cole Porter’s web publishers would luck away when some rock and roll or country designer made a decision to try their hands at something even more sophisticated, but certainly, there wasn’t plenty of cross-fertilization between your decades. After that there’s the situation of Don Raye. By no means a figure rated anywhere near Berlin or Porter, or the Gershwins, he was, non-etheless, an operating songwriter whose music helped define jive and boogie-woogie by the end from the 1930s as well as the dawn from the ’40s; and resided to see some of these same music covered by famous brands Chuck Berry, the Rolling Rocks, and Foghat some 30 years afterwards. He was created Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., and his dad was the author of the sentimental previous chestnut “Mom.” The guy was an all natural talent being a dancer, earning honours for his feet function; he got into vaudeville in his teenagers being a song-and-dance guy beneath the name Don Raye. After beginning to create tracks to spice up his work, Raye noticed that his function was not just good enough to market to others, but that might constitute an improved living compared to the vaudeville stage; specifically mainly because he reached his 20s, the maximum 10 years for just about any dancer’s capability. In the middle-’30s, he was collaborating with Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin, in addition to bandleader Jimmie Lunceford, and got created a swinging design like a songwriter. Among his early strikes was “Later on a bit,” a nice small amalgam of bluesy tempo and brilliant, catchy lyrics which was found by Freddie Slack and can Bradley, and included in everyone from Glenn Miller to Count number Basie. One of the performers who enjoyed strikes with Raye’s tracks had been the Andrews Sisters, who got a particularly stunning method of “Well FINE! (Tonight’s the night time),” their three voices and Vic Schoen’s set up straddling pop and golf swing. In 1940, Raye visited Hollywood to focus on the trio’s 1st feature film, Argentine Evenings. The film wasn’t very much, but Raye, collaborating with Hughie Prince and Vic Schoen, developed “Rhumboogie,” a music that formally exposed a new stage within the Andrews Sisters’ function: through it as well as the strikes that implemented, co-authored by Raye, they truly became the singing staff of boogie-woogie. Raye acquired a particular knack for adapting slang expressions and alliterative phrases to catchy musical hooks: “Defeat Me Daddy, Eight towards the Club,” for instance, used what “clink” and “clank” even more musically (and memorably, and coyly, within the hands from the trio) than anyone might have believed possible. Found with the Andrews Sisters’ three voices around Schoen’s music group arrangements, the outcomes were amazing to pop and golf swing audiences alike, reducing a broad swathe over the well-known culture from the period. Raye was a completely integrated person in Schoen’s orchestra for a while too, going out on the highway during their initial tour as their head while Schoen performed trumpet and trombone using the music group. His second film task using the Andrews Sisters, Buck Privates, yielded a set of bouncy, slang-oriented classics which were one of the determining music from the 1940s: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (that was nominated for an Oscar) and “Jump Me Sibling, With a good Four.” Also within the rating and co-authored by Raye was a perfect period-patriotic quantity, “You’re a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith,” which Frank Sinatra believed plenty of of to record through the 1960s, keeping in mind the period from the ’40s. Raye may also be glimpsed within the film, playing Dick Burnette and dance using the Andrews Sisters at one stage. Through the entire early ’40s, Raye provided a steady blast of tracks towards the Andrews Sisters also to dozens of movies from Common, including Hellzapoppin, Within the Navy, Maintain ‘Em Flying, Trip ‘Em Cowboy, Crazy Home, and Reveille With Beverly, generally together with Gene DePaul. Once in awhile, he’d break from the boogie-woogie and rhythm-style amounts that was known, much like the big Traditional western ballad “Bring Me My Saddle” in Trip ‘Em Cowboy, or “I’ll Keep in mind April” through the same film. The second option was expected as a big success, but it had taken a whole lot of function from Raye merely to have it into the film — the companies had anticipated boogie-woogie from him — and from Jack port Kapp at Decca Information to obtain it out being a pop regular, documented by Kitty Carlisle and Bing Crosby. By 1949, when he retired from film function & most of his songwriting actions, Raye’s music have been documented by every big-name performer available, including Harry Adam, Woody Herman, Jimmy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington. Strangely more than enough, actually during his pension, Raye’s music didn’t vanish; instead, his tracks proved one of the even more long lasting of ’40s music. The Andrews Sisters helped by reprising their focus on Capitol Information in the middle-’50s (actually enjoying a fresh run in the graphs past due in the 10 years with “Well FINE! (Tonight’s the night time)”). Also, some of Raye’s past due-’30s and middle-’40s quantities found new lease of life in the brand new era of performers: Merrill Moore grabbed to “Home of Blue Lighting” (lots Raye acquired co-authored with Freddie Slack) and “Later on a bit,” that have been also found by Chuck Berry; and in 1964, the Rolling Rocks featured “Later on a bit” (most likely learned in the Berry saving) on Rolling Rocks Now. Serves like Foghat consequently found the song, and also through the 1970s, the Flamin’ Groovies and Commander Cody & His Shed Planet Airmen had been keeping Raye’s function before the general public with refreshing readings of “Home of Blue Lamps”; thus producing him one of the most ubiquitous ’30s-’40s songwriting skills from the 1970s. In 1972, Raye received possibly the most unpredicted tribute to his profession when Bette Midler got her documenting of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Son” (predicated on Schoen’s unique arrangement) back again to the very best Ten for the graphs, 31 years following its last appearance among bestselling tunes; along the way spearheading a revival appealing within the Andrews Sisters.

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