‘He was deaf, gay, and cried in all his songs’: Johnnie Ray, the brilliant and forgotten rocker who paved the way for Elvis
In this era of biopics and rediscoveries, the multifaceted figure of the artist who took the 1950s by storm has yet to be recognized as a rock ‘n’ roll legend and, perhaps, a queer icon
Johnnie Ray, a singer who rose to fame in the 1950s, is remembered by filmmaker John Waters as "deaf, gay, and cried in all his songs." Despite his significant contributions to music, Ray is now largely forgotten. Waters, in an interview with The New Yorker, highlights Ray's unique qualities, including his deafness, sexuality, and emotional singing style.
While Ray did not publicly identify as gay, his associates suggested possible bisexuality, though these claims have never been confirmed by Ray himself. Singer Rosemary Clooney, who knew Ray, noted that he might have been gay, but not exclusively so. Ray's legacy, therefore, remains obscured by the passage of time, overshadowed by more prominent figures in the music industry.
Brief written by urgent.news from El Pais English's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
