DIED ON THIS DAY: 1954 Johnny Ace. June 9, 1929 - December 25, 1954 On this day in music history: December 25, 1954 - R&B singer Johnny Ace will die of an accidental self inflicted gunshot wound in Houston, TX. Born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, TN, his initial break will come when he lands a spot in B.B. King’s band after the blues guitar legend leaves Memphis for Los Angeles. Alexander will also take over King’s radio show on legendary rhythm & blues radio station WDIA. Dubbing himself “Johnny Ace”, the singer will sign with Houston based label Duke/Peacock Records in 1952. He will quickly score a smash with “My Song”, topping the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart for nine weeks in September of 1952. Over the next two years, Ace will have a string of eight hits on the R&B singles charts. He will also tour the US extensively, mostly with label mate “Big Mama” Thornton. Ace is playing a concert at the City Auditorium when tragedy strikes. In between shows, Johnny is in his dressing room drinking and playing around with .32 caliber pistol. Thornton and her bass player Curtis Tillman are also in Ace’s dressing room at time. Ace will begin playfully waving the gun around when someone warns him to be careful. Johnny will say, “it’s OK, the gun’s not loaded”, then pointing at his head and squeezing the trigger. The gun discharges, hitting the singer in the side of the head and killing him instantly. Terrified and in shock, Big Mama runs out of the dressing room yelling, “Johnny Ace just killed himself”. At the time, it is widely misreported that Ace had been playing Russian Roulette, the shooting will be proven to have been an accident. The singer is just twenty five years old at the time of his death. When he is laid to rest back in Memphis, TN on January 9, 1955, over five thousand mourners will attend his funeral. Johnny Ace’s biggest success will come posthumously when Duke Records releases the single “Pledging My Love”, recorded before his untimely death. Issued in January of 1955, is an enormous hit out of the box. It will hit number one on the R&B singles chart on February 12, 1955, spending ten weeks at the top, crossing over to the pop chart and peaking at number seventeen on March 19, 1955. “Pledging My Love” will be covered by several artists over the years including David Allan Coe and Elvis Presley. Johnny Ace’s original recording is featured in several films including director Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets”, John Carpenter’s film adaptation of Stephen King’s “Christine” and “Back To The Future”. Musician Paul Simon will also pay tribute to the fallen R&B icon with the song “The Late Great Johnny Ace” on his 1983 album “Hearts And Bones”. Simon will acknowledge that “Pledging My Love” was the first record he had ever bought when he was thirteen years old. Remembering “the late, great Johnny Ace” - June 9, 1929 - December 25, 1954
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:40:30 +0000
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