Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer and musician, nicknamed "The King of

Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his white

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

, which he often jumped on top of and "rode" while playing.

Biography

He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, in April 1934, and lived in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

, during his earliest years. After his family moved in 1944 to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Campi began a lifetime of performing and recording music in numerous genres, including

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

as well as rockabilly. Early on he recorded on Domino Records. In the 1950s, Campi recorded for several labels, including

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

, and recorded the first tribute record to the 1959 Buddy Holly plane crash, "The Ballad of Donna and Peggy Sue", backed by the

Big Bopper Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of wh ...

's band. He also worked with a diverse range of singers, including

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

(who recorded his song "Caterpillar") and

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

. He rarely concentrated on his musical career exclusively, working a wide variety of jobs, notably twenty-five years, from 1967, spent as a junior high school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

. During these years Ray Campi were a teacher for

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

and

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is als ...

kids. He fiercely criticized the mainstream music industry, in particular its connections with drug culture. His musical career took off in the early 1970s when he was rediscovered by Ronny Weiser, the owner of

Rollin' Rock Records Rollin' Rock is an American rockabilly record label founded by producer Ronny Weiser. Initially created as music magazine Rollin' Rock in 1969, the magazine became a full-fledged record label in 1970. Rollin' Rock got its start reissuing 50's recor ...

. Soon after, Ronny bought the double bass for him. But during the fifties, Ray Campi played on bass-guitar. After 4 days of practise, Ray recorded "Pan American Boogie" in Ronny's bedroom. Soon after Ray began touring Great Britain and Europe more often and regularly played at festivals there. He also recorded with German, Finnish, British and Dutch rockabilly bands over two decades, and produced his own albums with artists such as Rosie Flores, Bobby 'Fats' Mizell and Ian Whitcomb. Campi performed on several solo albums by Kevin Fennell, his lead guitarist from 1977 to 2015. Campi also performed and recorded with his longtime musical associate Rip Masters. Campi died in his sleep at home on March 11, 2021, at the age of 86.

Recognition

Ray Campi was a member of the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

Early discography

Many of Ray Campi's earliest 1950s recordings were not issued until the 1980s and 1990s, mostly on European albums. But the following were issued on 45-rpm and, in some cases, 78-rpm. "Caterpillar" was considered his most popular record until his revival in the 1970s. *TNT 145 "Caterpillar"/"Play It Cool" 1956 *Dot 15617 "It Ain't Me"/"Give That Love to Me" 1957 *Domino 700 "My Screamin' Screamin' Mimi"/"Uh Huh Huh" 1958 *Domino 701 "You Gambled"/"No Time" 1958 *D-104 "Ballad of Donna and Peggy Sue"/"The Man I Met (Tribute to the Big Bopper)" 1959 *Verve 10208 "Our Man in Havana"/"Reprieve of Love" 1960 *Colpix 166 "Cry For Happy"/"Hear What I Wanna Hear" 1960

References

External links

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Entries at 45cat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campi, Ray 1934 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century double-bassists American double-bassists American rockabilly musicians Country musicians from New York (state) D Records artists Male double-bassists People from Yonkers, New York Radar Records artists Slap bassists (double bass)