John Lennon Said ‘There’d Be No Elvis’ Without This Blues Singer

Elvis Presley wouldn’t have been the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll without the musical pioneers who came before him and — John Lennon was well aware of that. The “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” singer said The Beatles were inspired by Elvis and Elvis was inspired by a blues singer. The singer in question had some huge hits in the 1950s. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll even covered one of his more famous songs. 

John Lennon said there’d be no Elvis Presley without Johnnie Ray

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John discussed The Beatles’ musical lineage. “Without rock ‘n’ roll there would be no Beatles,” he said. “It’s all speculation. Without Elvis there would be no Beatles. Without Johnnie Ray there would be no Elvis. Without whoever came before Johnnie Ray there would be no Johnnie Ray. It’s endless. It’s timeless. 

“In the ’60s it was The Beatles, so that music is going to be important to them [the 1960s generation] until they die,” he added. “But in the ’40s it was, whatever, Glenn Miller, and when our parents hear Glenn Miller they go through the same thing. Maybe they didn’t put all the extra stuff on it, though, as our generation did. You know, all the cosmic stuff.”

John was then asked about bands that drew inspiration from The Beatles. “All music is rehash,” he said. “There are only a few notes. Just variations on a theme. Try to tell the kids in the ’70s who were screaming to the Bee Gees that their music is just The Beatles redone. There is nothing wrong with the Bee Gees. They do a damn good job.”

Johnnie Ray was huge in the 1950s but he flamed out

The Beatles, Elvis, and the Bee Gees are all household names today. Ray is not in the same league. According to The New York Times, Ray was a singer who became known for his emotive vocals. He hit No. 1 with the records “Cry” and “The Little White Cloud That Cried.” When released together, the two songs sold over 2 million copies. 

Other hits by Ray included “Such a Night,” “Please, Mr. Sun,” “All of Me,” “Somebody Stole My Gal,” “Just Walking in the Rain,” “You Don’t Owe Me a Thing,” “(Here Am I) Broken Hearted,” “What’s the Use,” and “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home.” While those songs were successful, they didn’t match the popularity of “Cry” or “The Little White Cloud That Cried.” While Ray was a teen idol on the level of Elvis or Frank Sinatra during his peak, his time in the limelight was fleeting. He stopped having hits in the mid-1950s.

How Johnnie Ray impacted Elvis Presley and popular culture

Although Ray hasn’t inspired all the biopics, spoofs, and decorative wall clocks that Elvis has, he still left a mark on popular culture. Elvis covered one of his songs: “Such a Night,” a suggestive ode to a one-night stand. Two iconic 1980s hits — Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express’ “Come On Eileen” and Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” — mention Ray as a symbol of his era.

Ray was a great talent and he paved the way for others.