| LC control no. | no 95040637 |
|---|---|
| Descriptive conventions | rda |
| LC classification | ML420.A16 Biography |
| Personal name heading | Ace, Johnny, 1929-1954 |
| Variant(s) | Alexander, John Marshall, 1929-1954 |
| Associated country | United States |
| Birth date | 1929-06-09 |
| Death date | 1954-12-25 |
| Place of birth | Memphis (Tenn.) |
| Place of death | Houston (Tex.) |
| Affiliation | United States. Navy Beale Streeters (Musical group) Duke Records, Inc. WDIA (Radio station : Memphis, Tenn.) |
| Profession or occupation | Rhythm and blues musicians Pianists Composers Radio music directors |
| Found in | Duke-Peacock's greatest hits [SR] p1992: label (Johnny Ace) Guinness encycl. of popular music (b. John Marshall Alexander Jr., June 9, 1929, Memphis; d. Dec. 25, 1954; rhythm and blues singer) African American National Biography, accessed June 12, 2015, via Oxford African American Studies Center database: (Ace, Johnny; John Marshall Alexander Jr.; rhythm and blues musician, songwriter, music producer, pianist; born 09 June 1929 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States; dropped out from the Booker T. Washington High School in the eleventh grade to join the Navy; was discharged (1947); became a piano player with the Beale Street Blues Boys (later the Beale Streeters), a band that backed B. B. King when he performed live (by 1949); David James Mattis, the program director at the Memphis all-black radio station WDIA (the “Mother Station of the Negroes”), founded Duke Records and changed his name from Alexander to Johnny Ace (1952); produced eight rhythm and blues top-ten records, including three number one hits: “My Song” (1952), “The Clock” (1953), and “Pledging My Love” (1955); last record, “Pledging My Love,” first advertised in “Billboard” on the day of his death (number one in retail sales, radio airplay, and jukebox action), was the most-played rhythm and blues record (1955), it represents the transitional record between rhythm and blues and rock and roll; died 25 December 1954 in Houston, Texas, United States) |
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