Customer Reviews

The Late Great Johnny Ace and Transition from R&B to Rock 'n' Roll (Music in American Life)

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A biography that has been long overdue,"The Late Great Johnny Ace.." is a marvelous journey to the backsteps of an long overlooked persona. Ace is just as much a legend as James Dean or Elvis Presley, but has been for years sidelined to a mere footnote in rock history. Ace's sensational russian roulette death on Christmas Day 1954, has unfairly eclipsed his musical merits, and is usually the first open topic in a discussion about him. This book is an excellent read simply because it offers more information about Ace and his music than anything previously published. Salem not only takes the reader for a slow cruise through Ace's short life but he builds an incredible atmosphere of life as a musician in Memphis. Here we not only learn more of Johnny Ace the man, but of his world and the collision course fame put him on. Ace's tragic death is explored in grave detail dispelling many myths and half truths. A must-read for any music historian. Now if they could just turn this into a movie.

At long last,a book about Johnny Ace,rock&roll's first great tragedy.(He preceeded Buddy Holly's plane crash by a good 5 years.)Indeed,they had barely begun calling it "rock & roll"when Johnny killed himself playing russian roulette on Dec.25,1954.(Not Christmas eve,as is usually reported.)This fine book dispells many myths about that fateful night,and is also a welcome addition to the rock'n roll literature.A must read about the early days of rock music.

How do you read a book about someone whose career just spanned 18 months and whose recorded material fits on one cd? And this in a time when the media wasn't as developed, certainly not for black events.

Salem has somehow managed it. It gives a good overview of Johnny Ace's life and unfortunate death at a very early age. The crux of the book is how the author weaves Ace's career and life into the broader narrative of black music and black life in the South.

Therefore, it's a good biography, but also a good history book on black entertainment in the early 1950's

Like the author, I am a big Johnny Ace fan and share a deep passion for 1950s rhythm 'n' blues music. I'm a long time, Philadelphia record collector, collecting 1950s rhythm 'n' blues vocal groups and single artists. Pop Matters Book Review wrote the following about Dr. Salem's Johnny Ace biography, "A scholarly work and a piece of genuine research,..." However, there was one piece of "...genuine research..." that needed correcting.

Writing about Johnny Ace's 1953, hit recording "The Clock," Dr. Salem wrote, "...As it turned out, no one bothered to cover the song until Lee Andrews and The Hearts recorded it in 1957..." (page 90). In that one complete, 21 word sentence, Dr. Salem provided the reader with 5 unique pieces of factually wrong information. Let us forensically dissect the above sentence.


Factual Error #1. Someone did bother to cover Johnny Ace's "The Clock" before Lee Andrews and The Hearts.

Factual Error #2. "The Clock" by Billy Barlow Okeh 7011 was the cover version, released around October-November 1953.

Factual Error #3. Lee Andrews and The Hearts never recorded Johnny Ace's "The Clock."

Factual Error #4. What points of commonality do these two songs share, other than the 2 word song title "The Clock"? Answer: nothing.

Factual Error #5 The use of the term "cover record" regarding Lee Andrews and The Hearts was wrong.

Billy Barlow's version is a true example of a "1950s cover record." Why? Because it was released during the chart life of Johnny Ace's original, hit version. Barlow's version may not have been in direct competition with Johnny Ace's hit recording. Why not? Barlow was a white artist and his rendition sounds more country and/or pop than strictly rhythm 'n' blues. The irony was that Barlow's "The Clock" was released on Columbia's rhythm 'n' blues subsidiary label, Okeh. If the record buying public expected rhythm 'n' blues, they were in for a shock.

Once Johnny Ace's recording fell off the charts, all subsequent versions were technically speaking, re-makes. Hence, had Lee Andrews and the Hearts recorded Johnny Ace's "The Clock" in 1957, it would have been labeled, or categorized, a re-make.

Why was Dr. Salem's information about Lee Andrews and The Hearts so abysmally wrong? That's easy. Dr. Salem never listened to the original, 1957 Lee Andrews and The Hearts recording. Why would a scholar write about a specific recording he never heard? I don't know.