Customer Reviews

You Don't Know What You

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The great album by Ral Donner, "You Don't Know What You've Got Until You Lose It" probably sounds like many of the rockers in the 60's who tried to imitate The King. Ral was, in my opinion, one of the best, the brightest, but also short lived. For those of us who grew up listening to this sound, his voice brought chills, daydreams and thoughts beyond the song he was singing! Even now, 40+ years later, that voice still has it....well worth the price of the CD....

I for one, have never considered Ral donner a Elvis imitator. Ral was a unfornate sound-alike. However, were fortunate that Ral can stand on his own. And if you like 50's music, without the rockabilly twang, you'll like, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT. Listen to this album a couple of times and you'll get the difference in sound and style. The sound and style that diffinetly is Ral, and not Elvis! If there's one down-side to this album, It's that STANDING IN THE MIDDLE(of a puddle of tears)is not on this album.(personal favorite) Nor either is I GOT BURNED. Having said all that, i say all this! It's an enjoyable sound of the 50's.

Enjoyable originals from arguably the first and best of the early Elvis soundalikes. While the Elvis influence is beyond question, you can also detect a Bobby Darrin-esque quality to his voice which helped to elevate his performances a notch above those of most of the Preseley wannabees of his generation. Sadly, Ral was never able to break free of the early comparisons, and as a result slipped into obscurity recording Elvis-sounding tributes up until his untimely death in the early 80's. Ironically, Ral's greatest success came not as a singer, but as the narration voice of the 1981 docudrama "This is Elvis". Still, Ral was a singer first, and a pretty good one as judged by the fine sounding renditions found on this collection.

What I have to take exception to is the contention by one reviewer that Donner "was hip long before Elvis was heard of." I mean, come on! When Donner first recorded (unsuccessfully) for Scottie in 1958 [at age 15], Presley already had numerous hits with both Sun and RCA and was well on his way to the title King Of R&R. At best Donner was a curiosity, having an uncanny similarity to Elvis in those torchy songs sung like he was juggling a hot potato in his mouth.

In this release Collectables deviates from their usual patterns of omitting something significant in a multi-track CD covering an artist with just a handful of hit singles, by giving us all 5 plus three of the B-sides.

His first came in late spring 1961 on the Gone label when his cover of the 1960 Elvis cut, Girl Of My Best Friend, went to # 19 Billboard Pop Hot 100 b/w It's Been A Long Long Time (not here), billed to Ral Donner & The Starfires. A few months later he was back on the charts under just his own name with You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It) which, b/w Close To Heaven, rose to a solid # 4 Hot 100 that August.

Shortly after, however, the rumours that this was really Elvis were squelched and so Please Don't Go just made the Hot 100 Top 40 at # 39 in October b/w I Didn't Figure On Him (To Come Back), although his late 1961 release, She's Sverything (I Wanted You To Be) did rise to a respectable # 19 Hot 100 in early 1962 b/w Because We're Young (not here). His final hit then came in April 1962 when (What A Sad Way) To Love Someone topped out at # 18 on the new Adult Contemporary charts and # 74 Hot 100 b/w Will You Love Me In Heaven?

After his last charter Donner, born Ralph Stewart Donner on February 10, 1943 in Chicago, bounced from pillar to post (Tau, Reprise, Fontana, Red Bird, Rising Sons, Chicago Fire, and Sunlight) without further chart success, although I agree with one reviewer who said I Got Burned, done while at Reprise, was one of his best. Unfortunately, that's not here either. He also narrated the film This Is Elvis.

Sadly, he died after a bout with cancer on April 6, 1984 at age 41.

Elvis Presley's mother did NOT catch him recording Ral Donner's music; she was in fact dead when Ral (true name Ralph) came along. (Typical of that reviewer). Ral did NOT precede Elvis; in fact, he was born in Chicago seven years after Elvis. He was very good in his vocal impersonation and even did Elvis' speaking voice for narrating the semi-documentaty movie "This is Elvis". His charted hits are on this package; I recommend it. Mister Donner died of cancer in 1984; cherish the memory--unless you just discovered him.

NOTHING CAN PREPARE YOU FOR SOMEONE WHO IS SO UNDERATED AND THANKS TO SATILLITE RADIO I HEARD HIS WONDERFUL VOICE AND THOUGHT IT WAS ELVIS AND LO AND BEHOLD IT WAS **RAL DONNER**

WHO?? **RAL DONNER** DONT FORGET THIS VOICE AND COLLECTION OF TUNES--->DESERVES HIGHER/GREATER RECOGNITION:)

FOR REAL, **RAL DONNER** IS THE REAL DEAL:)

Ral Donner sings with much emotion on this CD. Although his voice resembles that of Elvis Presley he deserves to be recognized for more than just the man who sounds like Elvis. Ral seems to try very hard to sound like Elvis and that is probably why he wasn't bigger than he was.

With songs like "Little Miss Heartbreak" and "So Close To Heaven" it's evident that Ral had a remarkable voice of his own without trying to sound like someone else. It doesn't work and it never will for someone to try to sound so much like someone else and make it "Big Time".

This CD by Ral Donner is very enjoyable and if I could find anything else by him I would buy it.

If you like Elvis and people who sound like him, if you don't know by now, should find CD's or whatever you can on the singer first known as "Orion". Other names he has gone by that I know of is Jimmy Ellis and Ellis James.

If your looking for all of Ral Donner's hits for the least amount for money, this is it at this time. Here are his 5 charted hits and 3 of their b-sides in this totally enjoyable package.
1. "Girl of my best friend" top 20 in 1961, b-side MISSING is "It's been a long long time".
2. "You don't know what you've got (until you lose it)" b/w "So close to heaven" top 5 in 1961.
3. "Please don't go" b/w "I didn't figure on him (to come back)" top 40 in 1961.
4. "She's everything (I wanted you to be)" top 20 in 1961, b-side MISSING is "Because we're young".
5. "(What a sad way) to love someone" b/w "Will you love me in Heaven" top 100 in 1962.

Track 3#" is (What a sad way) to love someone", not 'somebody'.

18 tracks are listed but you really only get 17 different songs. On track #14 "To love", Collectables has another error. They have repeated track #3 "(What a sad way) to love someone". So that song is here twice, and the actual song "To love" which is a very different song is not here at all, just it's title. It can be found on "Ral Donner, 33 Greatest Hits" and "The Complete Ral Donner, 1959 to 1962" among others.

Because I loved all Rock & Roll music in the early 60's to me Ral Donner was simply another great voice that sang some exceptional music.

But Elvis was pretty well intrenched as the 'king of R&R' with 45 charted hits in 1961. When Donner's single, "Girl of my best friend" was released early that year, folks at first thought it was Elvis. The clock started ticking on Donner's career the moment it was realized it wasn't.

Conway Twitty was also frowned on at that time for his ability to sound similar to Elvis. With Conway's rich deep voice in "It's only make beleive" 1958, and "Lonely blue boy" 1959, there has always been some thinking that he was trying to imitate Elvis also.
Conway's last 'pop' recording of "Portrait of a fool" bearly broke into the top 100 chart in Janurary 1961. He 'moved' to country music in 1966 after a 4 year hiatus. His first song titled "I guess my eyes were bigger than my heart", was a top 20 hit.

Ral Donner went from label to label seeking more chart success. He recorded a fair amount of additional great music during that time, which accounts for the variety of collections of his music. Sadly unlike Conway Twitty he never had another song chart.

This collection is a great listen. It sounds great and contains great album cuts.
By 'Collectables' label, licensed from Rhino Inc. in 1995.
The music is 5 stars, it would have been nice to not have the "collectables" errors.

If you enjoy Ral Donner's music on this collection, you would likely enjoy all the rest of his recordings as well. All of his music is good and well done no matter which label it was recorded for, or which collection you choose.

I went to high school with Ral, and his mother would tell me stories about his ongoing contractual experiences, including the Cadillac that he had to buy from his limited income. The songs are fabulous. Any fan of Elvis needs this collection too.

I agree with the last reviewer.Elvis is "original" Ral Donner is an impersonator.Elvis was recording back in 1954 long before Ral.I think Rals voice is very close to Elvis but there are some Elvis tribute artists today who are much closer than even him.So lets get real Elvis was unique and no-one comes close.