Ray Whitley
Encyclopedia
Raymond Otis Whitley also known as Ray Whitley, was a Country
and Western
singer, radio
and Hollywood movie star.
. He began his singing career in New York City
in 1930. He had traveled to New York where he became a construction worker
on the Empire State Building
and the George Washington Bridge
. He formed "The Range Ramblers" and began to broadcast on WMCA
. He then traveled with the World Championship Rodeo Organisation, renaming his band "The Six Bar Cowboys". Whitley was skilled in the use of the bullwhip
, and could remove a cigarette from a man's lips with a single stroke, using either hand.B-Westerns: Ray Whitley
Whitley recorded for several record labels, including Okeh, Apollo Records
and Decca
.
on the production of the famous Gibson SJ-200
acoustic guitar, which was initially known as the "Super Jumbo". Whitley used his own time and money to design a guitar which he took to Gibson. He explained the features and merits of the instrument, suggesting that by presenting them to other stars of the day, would result in really putting the Gibson name on the musical instrument map. As a result, Whitley was the first performer to own a Gibson SJ-200. The first SJ-200, custom built by Gibson for Whitley, is on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame. The SJ-200 has since become an American
icon and has been played by hundreds of different guitarists over the years.
and made 54 movies, alongside other cowboy actors of the day including Gene Autry
.
In the late 1950s Whitley made appearances on the Roy Rogers
TV specials, he also appeared in the feature film Giant starring James Dean
.
Whitley wrote the original western tune Back in the Saddle Again
. The song was first heard in the western movie Border G-Man in which he played the part of "Luke Jones". Gene Autry heard it and bought the song for a reported $200, making it his theme song. Whitley and Autry changed the order of verse and chorus, and made a slight change in the melody into the present version that makes it one of the most recognized and recorded Western music
tunes in history.
with his son-in-law, Hal Bracken.
Ray Whitley's original Gibson SJ-200 is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
Tennessee
. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1981, and in 1996 Ray Whitley was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame
.
The Ray Whitley Recording King guitar was a favorite of B-17 pilots during the second World War, which may explain their rarity today. During the brief time this guitar was marketed, it was the most ornate guitar built by Gibson at the time, but as it was sold under the Recording King label, at $29.95 it was far from the most expensive guitar produced by Gibson prior to WWII.
These numbers were entered without any reference or justification. It would be greatly appreciated if the person who posted this information would please state a source for these numbers. I have talked to the archivists at Gibson on more than one occasion and they can not determine how many of these guitars were built.
Gibson Shipping Ledgers show the following totals for the Montgomery Ward - Recording King Ray Whitley Jumbo Models:
Total of 147 - RK Ray Whitley Model #1027 (Rosewood back & sides, "bat wing" shaped bridge)
Total of 170 - RK Ray Whitley Model #1028 (Mahogany back & sides, plain rectangle-style bridge)
Breaks down like this:
143 #1027s shipped in 1939
Only 4 #1027s shipped in 1940
115 #1028s were shipped in 1939
55 #1028s shipped in 1940
First shipment of 1027s - 1/23/1939 - Last: 2/27/1940
First shipment of 1028s - 6/23/1939 - Last: 6/13/1940
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and Western
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
singer, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and Hollywood movie star.
Singing and live performance
Whitley was born in Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. He began his singing career in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1930. He had traveled to New York where he became a construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
on the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
and the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
. He formed "The Range Ramblers" and began to broadcast on WMCA
WMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
. He then traveled with the World Championship Rodeo Organisation, renaming his band "The Six Bar Cowboys". Whitley was skilled in the use of the bullwhip
Bullwhip
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather, which was originally used as a tool for working with livestock.Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country...
, and could remove a cigarette from a man's lips with a single stroke, using either hand.B-Westerns: Ray Whitley
Whitley recorded for several record labels, including Okeh, Apollo Records
Apollo Records
Apollo Records may refer to:* Apollo Records - US based company* Apollo Records - US based company* Apollo Records - US based company* Apollo Records - Belgian-based company* Apollo Records - US based company...
and Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
.
Development of the Gibson SJ-200
In 1937, Ray Whitley had worked with GibsonGibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
on the production of the famous Gibson SJ-200
Gibson J-200
Gibson J-200 is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.Gibson entered into production of this model in 1938 as its top-of-the-line flat top guitar, initially called the Super Jumbo, changing the name in 1939 to the Super Jumbo 200. It was made at the Gibson Factory in...
acoustic guitar, which was initially known as the "Super Jumbo". Whitley used his own time and money to design a guitar which he took to Gibson. He explained the features and merits of the instrument, suggesting that by presenting them to other stars of the day, would result in really putting the Gibson name on the musical instrument map. As a result, Whitley was the first performer to own a Gibson SJ-200. The first SJ-200, custom built by Gibson for Whitley, is on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame. The SJ-200 has since become an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
icon and has been played by hundreds of different guitarists over the years.
Motion pictures
In 1938, Whitley was signed to RKO PicturesRKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
and made 54 movies, alongside other cowboy actors of the day including Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
.
In the late 1950s Whitley made appearances on the Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
TV specials, he also appeared in the feature film Giant starring James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
.
Whitley wrote the original western tune Back in the Saddle Again
Back in the Saddle Again
"Back in the Saddle Again" was the signature song of American cowboy entertainer Gene Autry. It was co-written by Autry with Ray Whitley and first released in 1939...
. The song was first heard in the western movie Border G-Man in which he played the part of "Luke Jones". Gene Autry heard it and bought the song for a reported $200, making it his theme song. Whitley and Autry changed the order of verse and chorus, and made a slight change in the melody into the present version that makes it one of the most recognized and recorded Western music
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
tunes in history.
Death and legacy
Ray Whitley died on February 21, 1979, while en route to a fishing trip to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
with his son-in-law, Hal Bracken.
Ray Whitley's original Gibson SJ-200 is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is uniquely associated with music community in the city of...
in 1981, and in 1996 Ray Whitley was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame
Western Music Association Hall of Fame
The Western Music Association Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Western Music Association. Inductees are those individuals deemed important to the traditional and contemporary music of the American West and the American Cowboy.-1989-1999:1989*Rex Allen...
.
Instruments
Ray Whitley also endorsed another Gibson made guitar, sold by the mail order house Montgomery Wards under the house brand "Recording King." This highly esteemed guitar was marketed only in 1939, and featured the signature of Mr. Whitley on the headstock. 235 of these were made in mahogany, and 235 in rosewood. One of these instruments was the preferred guitar of American composer John Fahey, who recorded extensively on the instrument from 1969-1978. It was severely damaged in a domestic quarrel between Fahey and his girlfriend at the time. The remains of the guitar were collected by guitarist Peter Lang, who was an employee of Fahey's Takoma Records, and preserved for 23 years before being repaired by luthier Federico Sheppard, who later held the trademark for Recording King guitars.The Ray Whitley Recording King guitar was a favorite of B-17 pilots during the second World War, which may explain their rarity today. During the brief time this guitar was marketed, it was the most ornate guitar built by Gibson at the time, but as it was sold under the Recording King label, at $29.95 it was far from the most expensive guitar produced by Gibson prior to WWII.
"235 of these were made in mahogany, and 235 in rosewood."
These numbers were entered without any reference or justification. It would be greatly appreciated if the person who posted this information would please state a source for these numbers. I have talked to the archivists at Gibson on more than one occasion and they can not determine how many of these guitars were built.
Gibson Shipping Ledgers show the following totals for the Montgomery Ward - Recording King Ray Whitley Jumbo Models:
Total of 147 - RK Ray Whitley Model #1027 (Rosewood back & sides, "bat wing" shaped bridge)
Total of 170 - RK Ray Whitley Model #1028 (Mahogany back & sides, plain rectangle-style bridge)
Breaks down like this:
143 #1027s shipped in 1939
Only 4 #1027s shipped in 1940
115 #1028s were shipped in 1939
55 #1028s shipped in 1940
First shipment of 1027s - 1/23/1939 - Last: 2/27/1940
First shipment of 1028s - 6/23/1939 - Last: 6/13/1940