Johnny Ace

Collection 1952-55 Johnny Ace

Johnny Ace, born John Alexander in Memphis, Tennessee, was a highly successful blues and R&B pianist and singer, whose career was tragically cut short at the height of his fame when he died at the age of 25 in a bizarre shooting accident in his dressing room at a gig with Big Mama Thornton on Christmas Day 1954. Before that, he had made some noted recordings accompanying the likes of B.B. King and Bobby Bland, and had run up a string of R&B hits as a solo artist. This 51-track 2-CD set comprises the A & B sides of his releases under his own name on the Flair and Duke labels, plus recordings he made with B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Earl Forest and Junior Parker, along with tribute recordings to him made by other artists after his death. It features all his eight Top 10 R&B hits, including the No. 1s "My Song", "The Clock" and "Pledging My Love" and the Top 3 hits "Cross My Heart" and "Saving My Love For You", along with Johnny Moore & The Three Blazers' Top 20 tribute hit "Johnny Ace's Last Letter". It provides as thorough a cross-section of his solo output as could be achieved and also showcases his talents as an accompanying pianist