5 Johnny Ace
YouTube Music Videos

Johnny Ace (June 9, 1929-December 25, 1954) was born John Marshall 
Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, to a country preacher and his wife. 
After serving in the navy during the Korean War, Alexander joined Adolph 
Duncan's Band as a pianist and after a short time moved on to the B.B. King 
band where now Blues legend, Bobby Bland, was a member. Soon King departed 
for Los Angeles and Bobby Bland was drafted into the army. Alexander took 
over vocal duties and renamed the band The Beale Streeters. He also took 
over King's WDIA radio show.

In 1952, becoming "Johnny Ace," he signed to Duke Records (originally a 
Memphis label associated with WDIA). "My Song," his first recording, topped 
the R&B charts for nine weeks in September 1952.

Ace began heavy touring, often with Willa Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. In the 
next two years, he had eight hits in a row, including:
"My Song"
"Cross My Heart" 
"Please Forgive Me" 
"The Clock" 
"Yes, Baby" 
"Never Let Me Go" 
"Saving My Love for You"
"Pledging My Love"

In December, 1954 he was named the Most Programmed Artist of 1954 based on a 
national DJ poll organized by U.S. Trade Weekly's Cash Box, which was a 
feature of the magazine.

Ace's recordings sold very well for those times. Early in 1955, Duke Records 
announced that the three 1954 Johnny Ace recordings, along with Thornton's 
"Hound Dog," had sold more than 1,750,000 records.

After touring for a year, Ace had been performing at the City Auditorium in 
Houston, Texas on Christmas 1954. Some say that during a break between sets, 
Ace allegedly decided to play a game of Russian Roulette. He aimed a .45 caliber 
revolver at his girlfriend, Olivia Gibbs, and pulled the trigger. He then aimed 
the gun at Olivia's friend, Mary Carter. Both times, the hammer fell on an empty 
chamber. He then swiftly turned the gun on himself and ended his life.

Big Mama Thornton, a witness to the shooting, said in a written statement 
(included in the book, "The Late Great Johnny Ace"), that Ace had been playing 
with the gun, but not playing Russian Roulette. According to Thornton, Ace 
pointed the gun at his girlfriend and another woman who were sitting nearby, 
but did not fire. He then pointed the gun toward himself. The gun went off, 
shooting him in the side of the head.

There have also been accusations, but no proof, that record company owner 
Don D. Robey, with whom Ace had been trying to renegotiate his contract, 
was responsible for his death.

Ace's funeral was on January 2, 1955, at Memphis' Clayborn Temple AME 
church. It was attended by an estimated 5000 people.

His biggest song, the haunting "Pledging My Love," became a hit posthumously 
in 1955. His single sides were compiled and released as The Johnny Ace 
Memorial Album.

Ace wrote most of the songs he recorded but was usually credited by his birth name, 
John Alexander, or John Alexander, Jr.

Tributes:
Johnny Ace and his song, "Pledging My Love," are mentioned in the 1971, Sam 
Shepard one-act play, Cowboy Mouth, co-written with Patti Smith. Johnny Ace 
is referenced in the final image of the play as the "Rock-n-Roll Saviour," 
where he appears, takes a revolver, points it at his head and pulls the 
trigger. The gun clicks on an empty chamber and the play ends.

An early scene in Charles Burnett's 1977 story and 2008 film, Killer of Sheep, 
includes the line "...going out like Johnny Ace."

David Allan Coe released his tribute version of "Pledging My Love," first on 
the 1981 album, Tennessee Whiskey, and then later on his 1990 album, Headed 
For The Country.

"Pledging My Love" was used multiple times in the 1983 film "Christine," 
directed by John Carpenter and written by Stephen King about a possessed, 
1958 Plymouth Fury, obsessed with a 17 year-old boy.

Johnny Ace is one of the names mentioned in the television adaptation of 
Stephen King's short story, "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band," from a 
Nightmares & Dreamscapes series televised in 2006. Ace's is one of the late 
musical legends set to appear on stage.

"The Night Johnny Ace Died," a short fiction by James Lee Burke, appears in 
the March 2007 issue of Esquire magazine.

Songs referencing or about Johnny Ace:
Paul Simon wrote a song called "The Late Great Johnny Ace," released on his 
1983, Hearts and Bones album, that references Johnny Ace's death as well as 
John Lennon's and John Kennedy's. He premiered the song to an audience 
during his famous reunion concert with Art Garfunkel in Central Park in 
1981. A fan rushed the stage during the song and was quickly arrested. Simon 
then completed the song. The incident was shown on the concert video on HBO, 
but the song was excluded from the live album from that concert. Simon also 
performed the song on Late Night with David Letterman, but once again the 
song was interrupted when a guitar string snagged on the edge of a metal fret. 
See lyrics and video for "The Late Great Johnny Ace" on mp3lyrics.org at 
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/p/paul-simon/the-late/

New Orleans-based rock band, Dash Rip Rock, wrote, recorded and released a 
song named "Johnny Ace," which tells the story of Johnny Ace's life and 
death. The song first appeared on their second Mammoth Records release "Ace 
of Clubs" in 1989. Subsequent recordings appeared in 1991 on Mammoth 
Record's Boiled Alive! and in 1996 on Naked Language Record's "Dash Rip 
Rock's Gold Record" Naked Language. You can find the lyrics and music video 
to "Johnny Ace," by Dash Rip Rock on mp3lyrics.org at 
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/d/dash-rip-rock/johnny-ace/.

In 1995, Will Oldham (as Palace Music) released a single, "Gezundeit/Let the 
Wires Ring." The last verse mentions Johnny Ace's death. Full lyrics can be 
found on mp3lyrics.org at 
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/w/will-oldham/let-the-wires-ring/

In 1998, Squirrel Nut Zippers released, their Christmas album, Christmas 
Caravan, a song called, "A Johnny Ace Christmas," in reference to the night 
he died. You can find the lyrics and music video to "A Johnny Ace 
Christmas," by Squirrel Nut Zippers on mp3lyrics.org at 
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/s/squirrel-nut-zippers/a/