Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

, singer, and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and com ...

in 1956.

Career

Born in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States, McKinley's parents bought him his first drum set at the age of nine. Soon after he began playing with a local band called The Jolly Jazz Band in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. He left home when he was 15 and played with Milt Shaw's Detroiters and the

Smith Ballew Sykes "Smith" Ballew (January 21, 1902 – May 2, 1984) was an American actor, sophisticated singer, orchestra leader, and a western singing star. He also was billed as Buddy Blue, Charles Roberts, and Billy Smith. Early years The son of Wil ...

and Duncan-Marin bands. His first substantial professional engagement came in 1934 with the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra. It was with the Smith Ballew band in 1929 that McKinley met

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

. The two formed a friendship that lasted from 1929 until Miller's death in 1944. McKinley and Miller joined the

Dorsey Brothers The Dorsey Brothers were an American studio dance band, led by Tommy Dorsey, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. They started recording in 1928 for OKeh Records. History The Dorsey Brothers recorded songs for the dime store labels (Banner Records, Banner, C ...

in 1934. Miller left for

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

in December 1934, while McKinley remained. The Dorsey brothers split in 1935, with McKinley remaining with Jimmy Dorsey until 1939, when he joined

Will Bradley Wilbur Schwichtenberg (July 12, 1912 – July 15, 1989), known professionally as Will Bradley, was an American trombonist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. He performed swing, dance music, and boogie-woogie songs, many of them written b ...

, becoming co-leader. McKinley's biggest hit with Bradley, as a singer, was "

Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" is a song written in 1940 by Don Raye, Hughie Prince, and Ray McKinley. It follows the American boogie-woogie tradition of syncopated piano music. Background The title adopts 1940s' hipster slang coined by Raye ...

", which he recorded early in the year 1940 (and for which he got partial songwriting credit under his wife's maiden name Eleanore Sheehy). McKinley is referred to as "Eight Beat Mack" in the lyrics to the song "

Down the Road a Piece "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy ...

," which he recorded as a trio with

and

Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...

in 1940. This was the earliest recording of the song, which was written specifically for Bradley's band by

Don Raye Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thr ...

. McKinley and Bradley split in 1942 and McKinley formed his own band, which recorded for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The McKinley band was short-lived. When McKinley broke up the band, he joined the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, which he co-led with arranger

Jerry Gray Jerry Don Gray (born December 16, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Gray played college footbal ...

after Miller's disappearance in December 1944. Upon being discharged at the end of the following year, McKinley formed a modern big band that featured a book of original material by legendary arranger

Eddie Sauter Edward Ernest Sauter (December 2, 1914 – April 21, 1981) was a composer and arranger during the swing era. Biography Sauter studied music at Columbia University and the Juilliard School. He began as a drummer and then played trumpet profession ...

(along with a helping of novelty vocals by the leader).

Sam Butera Sam Butera (August 17, 1927 – June 3, 2009) was an American tenor saxophonist and singer-songwriter best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ...

, later of the back-up band for

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...

was also a member. But with the business in decline, by 1950 McKinley began evolving into a part-time leader and sometime radio and TV personality. In 1956, capitalizing on the popularity of ''

The Glenn Miller Story ''The Glenn Miller Story'' is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their second non-western collaboration. Plot The film follows big band leader Glenn ...

'' movie with James Stewart, McKinley was chosen to be the leader of the revived

that still continues to operate, which he led until 1966. He co-hosted, with former Air Force band vocalist Johnny Desmond, a 13-week CBS-TV summer replacement series with the band called ''Glenn Miller Time'' in 1961. Ray McKinley's last recording session was in 1977 for

Chiaroscuro Records Chiaroscuro Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Hank O'Neal in 1970. The label's name comes from the art term for the use of light and dark in a painting. O'Neal came up with the name via his friend and mentor Eddie Condon, a ja ...

."Swing Music Net Biography Ray McKinley"
/ref>

Compositions

Ray McKinley wrote the lyrics to the 1945 wartime song "My Guy's Come Back" with music by

Mel Powell Mel Powell (born Melvin Epstein) (February 12, 1923 – April 24, 1998) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the founding dean of the music department at the California Institute of the Arts. He served as a music educator for over ...

. The song was recorded by

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

with vocals by Liza Morrow and was released as a

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

78 single in 1945 as a

V-Disc V-Disc ( "V" for Victory) was a record label that was formed in 1943 to provide records for U.S. military personnel. Captain Robert Vincent supervised the label from the Special Services division. Many popular singers, big bands, and orches ...

in February, 1946 as No. 585A. He composed the songs "Jiminy Crickets", "Bahama Mama", and "Hoodle Addle" in 1947. He wrote "Old Doc Yak" with

. He received a songwriting credit for "

" using his wife's name.

Selected discography

* note: all recordings credited to Ray McKinley & His Orchestra 10" shellac (78-rpm) and 7" vinyl (45-rpm) releases

Hit Records

* 7005: "I'll Keep The Lovelight Burning" / "Who Wouldn't Love You" (1942) * 7006: "Got The Moon In My Pocket" / "This Is Worth Fighting For" (1942)

Capitol Records

* 117: "Manhattan Serenade" / "Without A Song" (1942) * 128: "Rock-a-bye Bay" / "That Russian Winter" (1942) * 131: "Big Boy" / "Hard Hearted Hannah" (1943)

Majestic Records

* 7169: "Patience And Fortitude" / "You've Got Me Crying Again" (1946) * 7178: "We'll Gather Lilacs" / "Have Ya' Got Any Gum, Chum" (1946) * 7184: "In The Land Of The Buffalo Nickel" / "Sand Storm" (1946) * 7189: "Down The Road A Piece" / "One Love" (1946) * 7190: " I'm a Big Girl Now, Pt. 1" / "I'm a Big Girl Now, Pt. 2" (1946) - both sides credited to Ray McKinley & His Soda Fountain Seven * 7201: "That Little Dream Got Nowhere" / "Hangover Square" (1946) * 7206: "Borderline" / "Tumblebug" (1946) * 7207: "Passe" / "Hoodle-addle" (1946) - just McKinley's quartet on the B-side * 7211: "That's Where I Came In" / "Howdy Friends" (1946) * 7216: "

Red Silk Stockings and Green Perfume "Red Silk Stockings and Green Perfume" is a pop song written in 1946 by Bob Hilliard, Sammy Mysels, and Dick Sanford (''né'' Richard Young Sandford; 1896–1981). The first version was by *Ray McKinley and his Orchestra Other recorded versions ...

" / "Jiminy Crickets" (1946) * 7223: "Ivy" / "Meet Me At No Special Place (And I'll Be There At No Particular Time)" (1947) * 7249: "Pancho Maxmillian Hernandez" / "The Turntable Song" (1947) * 7274: "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" / "Those Things Money Can't Buy" (1947) * 7275: "Your Red Wagon" / "A Man's Best Friend Is A Bed" (1947) * 1185: "Over The Rainbow" / "You Don't Have To Know The Language" (1947) * 1187: "Mint Julep" / "Lazy Bones" (1947)

RCA Victor

* 20-2736: "Airizay" / "Cincinnati" (1947) * 20-2768: "Tambourine" / "A Man Could Be A Wonderful Thing" (1947) * 20-2873: " Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea" / "You Can't Run Away from Love" (1947) * 20-2913: " You Came a Long Way from St. Louis" / "For Heaven's Sake" (1947) * 20-2993: "All The Way From San Jose" / "Bahama Mama" (1947) * 20-3049: "My Kind Of Love" / "The Morning Glory Road" (1947) * 20-3086: "Idiot's Delight" / "Cyclops" (1947) * 20-3097: "All The Way From San Jose" / "Mumbo Jumbo In Your Gumbo" (1947) * 20-3124: "What Did I Do" / "The Morning Glory Road" (1947) * 20-3334: "Sunflower" / "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" (1949) * 20-3377: "The Missouri Walking Preacher" / " Similau" (1949) * 20-3436: "I'm Not Too Sure Of My L'amour" / "I Wanna Be Loved" (1949) * 20-3507: "Only For Americans!" / "Every Night Is Saturday Night" (1949) * 20-3546: "Where Did The Wild West Go" / "Sarong" (1949) * 20-3660: "My Heart Stood Still" / "Blue Moon" (1950) * 20-3661: "You Took Advantage Of Me" / "It's Easy To Remember" (1950) * 20-3662: "Blue Room" / "Thou Swell" (1950) * 20-3678: "I Gotta Have My Baby Back" / "For You My Love" (1950) * 20-3709: "I Don't Wanna Be Kissed (By Anyone But You)" / "The Third Man Theme" (1950) * 20-3769: "The Lonesomest Whistle" / "Cane Bottom Chair" (1950) - the B-side credited to Ray McKinley & Some Of The Boys * 20-3849: "Rock-a-bye The Boogie" / "Boogie Woogie Washerwoman" (1950) * 20-3973: "Sam, Don't Slam The Door!" / "Mama's Gone, Good Bye" (1950)

References

External links

Ray McKinley Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (1994)
Ray McKinley recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinley, Ray 1910 births 1995 deaths American bandleaders American jazz drummers American jazz singers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Big band bandleaders United States Army Air Forces soldiers Capitol Records artists Decca Records artists Dot Records artists Epic Records artists RCA Victor artists Savoy Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American singers Majestic Records artists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Dorsey Brothers members Hep Records artists