The spring of 1955 brought high billboard charting to Johnny Ace’s song, which became a #1 hit, Pledging My Love, his eighth #1 Billboard hit in R&B. In the spring following Ace’s passing, his songs weren’t only charting at the top of R&B charts, they were also crossing over into the charts of Pop music as well. With the record label’s next move to release the next of The Duke’s Record LP, their first long-play and 33-speed record, the ten-inch record titled Memorial Album for Johnny Ace.
Johnny Ace and His Memorial Singles and Albums
Accompanied with dramatic liner notes as a tribute to Ace’s music, his latest album, published after his death in the spring of 1955, music listeners couldn’t get enough of his talent. White and black teens across the country were looking for more 45 singles of Johnny Ace’s music and the record company provided them with a double EP, two 45s, named Memorial Album Johnny Ace and a Tribute to Johnny Ace, covering eight of Ace’s previous hits.
Requests for Johnny Ace Memorabilia
While the record company was selling memorial albums as soon as they were produced, they also found themselves swamped with requests for photos of Johnny Ace from fans, which poured in from all over the country. Paul Simon was quoted, “The photos were sent to the fans, post haste, with the signature at the bottom.”
The Band Post Ace’s Death
Even though Johnny was gone, the band still played out the six-month promotion cycle for music production. Duke now starts releasing a pre-recorded song that held and didn’t previously produce. With the two songs Anymore and the flip side of the record playing How Can You Be So Mean? These two songs were a cut-and-paste copy of the previous tracks.
Listen in to discover what Johnny’s band produced in the July 1954 Houston recording session, the last one before his death, how the new music which was last recorded had a different sound, and how his hit single Pledging My Love compared with other singles he launched previously.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.