Ray Peterson (April 23, 1939 – January 25, 2005) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop musicPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
singerSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
.
Ray T. Peterson was born in
DentonDenton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city's population was 119,454, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. As a boy he had to overcome polio. Blessed with a four
octaveIn music, an octave , is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon which has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music," the use of which is "common in most musical systems." It may be derived from the...
singing
voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary sound source...
, Peterson moved to
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
where he was signed to a
recording contractA recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
by RCA Victor Records in 1958. He
recordedSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
several songs that were minor
hitsA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
until "
The Wonder of You"The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. In 1959, Ray Peterson released it as a single. The song became a Top 40 hit for him on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #25. That same year it was recorded by Ronnie Hilton in the United Kingdom, his version reaching #22 on the UK Singles...
" made it into the Top 40 of the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
on June 15, 1959.
Ray Peterson (April 23, 1939 – January 25, 2005) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop musicPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
singerSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
.
Career
Ray T. Peterson was born in
DentonDenton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city's population was 119,454, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. As a boy he had to overcome polio. Blessed with a four
octaveIn music, an octave , is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon which has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music," the use of which is "common in most musical systems." It may be derived from the...
singing
voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary sound source...
, Peterson moved to
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
where he was signed to a
recording contractA recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
by RCA Victor Records in 1958. He
recordedSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
several songs that were minor
hitsA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
until "
The Wonder of You"The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. In 1959, Ray Peterson released it as a single. The song became a Top 40 hit for him on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #25. That same year it was recorded by Ronnie Hilton in the United Kingdom, his version reaching #22 on the UK Singles...
" made it into the Top 40 of the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
on June 15, 1959. The song would later be recorded by
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
, with whom Peterson became a friend.
In 1960, Peterson created his own
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
with his
managerManagement in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, facilitating and controlling or manipulating an organization or effort for...
Stan Shulman, called Dunes Records, and enlisted the help of
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
Phil SpectorHarvey Philip "Phil" Spector is an American pioneering record producer and songwriter who was convicted of murder in 2009....
. Peterson scored a Top 10 hit with the
teenage tragedy songThe teenage tragedy song, also known as a splatter platter, is a style of ballad popular between the late 1950s and the late 1960s that lamented the early deaths of teenagers, either sung from the viewpoint of the dead person's sweetheart, or sometimes from the viewpoint of the dead ...
, "
Tell Laura I Love Her"Tell Laura I Love Her," a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh, was an American Top Ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
", and followed that success with "
Corrina, Corrina"Corrine, Corrina" is a 12 bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Chatmon and the Mississippi Sheiks . However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams...
" Peterson's dramatic
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, "I Could Have Loved You So Well",
writtenA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
by
Barry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a rock music songwriting partnership.-Career:...
and
Cynthia WeilCynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with Barry Mann....
and produced by Spector, only reached #57 on the U.S. chart. He then tried another death disc, "Give Us Your Blessing", but this time nobody was interested.
His last charting hit was "Missing You". By the mid 1960s he had become something of a phenomenon on the west coast of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, appearing live in numerous
concertA concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig"...
s with
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
lookalike, Keith Allison.
His performances at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, produced by
Fred VailFred Vail was the 14th head college football coachfor the University of Richmond Spiders located in Richmond, Virginiaand he held that position for the 1903 season.His career coaching record at Richmond was 6 wins, 3 losses, and 1 ties. This ranks him...
, beginning in 1963 helped fuel a revival of "The Wonder of You," as well as launching his new relationship with
MGM RecordsMGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films...
, an alliance that produced two albums;
The Very Best of Ray Peterson which featured most of the Dunes singles, and
The Other Side of Ray Peterson, which included many of his
nightclubA nightclub is a drinking, dancing and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent nightclubs are known as clubbers...
songs. He later moved to
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
, and by the 1970s when the hit records stopped coming, Peterson became a Baptist Church minister and occasionally played the
oldiesOldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on a period 15 to 55 years before the present day.In the 1980s and 1990s, "oldies" meant the 15 years from the birth of rock n roll to the beginning of the singer-songwriter era of the early 1970s, or about 1955 to 1972.In...
music circuit.
Peterson was inducted into the
Rockabilly Hall of FameThe Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on the Internet March 21, 1997 to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre....
.
Peterson died of
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
in 2005, in
Smyrna, TennesseeSmyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 26,614 people at the 2000 census.- Businesses :Smyrna is the location of a large manufacturing facility owned by Nissan, and has been since 1982....
, aged 65. He left a
widowA widow is a woman whose spouse has died. A man whose spouse has died is a widower. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or viduity. The adjective is widowed.-Economic position of widows:...
and four sons and three daughters. He was interred in the Roselawn Memorial Gardens cemetery in
Murfreesboro, TennesseeMurfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 101,753 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2009 report, up from 81,393 residents certified during the city's 2005 special census. The center of population of Tennessee is...
.
Singles
| Year |
Title |
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
U.S. Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
U.S.
ACThe Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
|
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
|
Label |
| 1959 |
"Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams)" |
#64 |
- |
- |
RCA Victor |
| 1959 |
"The Wonder of You "The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. In 1959, Ray Peterson released it as a single. The song became a Top 40 hit for him on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #25. That same year it was recorded by Ronnie Hilton in the United Kingdom, his version reaching #22 on the UK Singles...
" |
#25 |
- |
#23 |
RCA Victor |
| 1960 |
"Tell Laura I Love Her "Tell Laura I Love Her," a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh, was an American Top Ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
" |
#7 |
- |
- |
RCA Victor |
| 1960 |
"Answer Me "Answer Me, My Love" is a popular song, originally written by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch. The English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman in 1953....
" |
- |
- |
#47 |
RCA Victor |
| 1960 |
"Corrina, Corrina "Corrine, Corrina" is a 12 bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Chatmon and the Mississippi Sheiks . However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams...
" |
#9 |
- |
#41 |
Dunes |
| 1961 |
"Missing You" |
#29 |
#7 |
- |
Dunes |
| 1964 |
"The Wonder of You "The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. In 1959, Ray Peterson released it as a single. The song became a Top 40 hit for him on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #25. That same year it was recorded by Ronnie Hilton in the United Kingdom, his version reaching #22 on the UK Singles...
" |
#70 |
-- |
- |
Dunes |
External links