This article is about the singer. For the baseball player, see Johnny Ray. John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927–February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a "major precursor"Ruhlmann, William. [LINK: http://wm02.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:39frxqyjldte] High Drama: The Real Johnnie Ray. Allmusic.com, retrieved 2007-08-31. of what would become rock 'n' roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage persona. He was partially deaf because of an injury sustained at the age of 13. Johnnie Ray continued to play major venues in the United Kingdom and Australia until the late 1980s, but he did not release any studio recordings after 1961. He lived in a house in the Hollywood Hills near the Chateau Marmont Hotel from 1976 until his 1990 death, but the gi