Sunday, September 05, 2004
Obituary: Johnny Bragg of the Prisonaires
From the Independent Digital (UK)
John Henry Bragg, singer and songwriter: born Nashville, Tennessee 6 May 1926; married Gail Green (died 1977; one daughter); died Madison, Tennessee 1 September 2004.
In 1956, when "Just Walkin' in the Rain" was a No 1 record for Johnnie Ray, its writer, Johnny Bragg, was incarcerated as a convicted rapist in Tennessee State Prison. He was serving six consecutive life sentences - a total of 594 years.
Bragg became known as "Bucket Head" as he would write his songs with a bucket on his head to simulate echo. Nashville stars would sometimes perform at the prison and, when Bragg met Hank Williams, he asked, "Do you ever sing songs written by other people?" "Depends," said Williams, "Are you one of those other people?" Bragg sang Williams a song which Williams bought for $5. The song eventually became "Your Cheatin' Heart", a country standard.
In the winter of 1953, Bragg was walking across the courtyard to his duties in the laundry with a burglar, Robert Riley. The rain was beating down and Bragg said, "Here we are just walking in the rain and wondering what the girls are doing." Riley said, "That's a song." With a few minutes Bragg had written two verses and was convinced it was a hit. As he was illiterate, he asked Riley to write it down in exchange for a writing credit.
Bragg was released on parole in January 1959. He was 32 years old and had spent 15 years in prison for crimes he almost certainly did not commit. Unusually for a black performer, he sang on the Grand Ole Opry and he also opened for Sammy Davis Jnr in Las Vegas. He recorded the singles "True Love Will Never Die" and "Everything's Alright", showing that he could copy either Brook Benton or Jackie Wilson effectively. He met Johnnie Ray and gave him a follow-up, "Laughin' in the Rain", but Ray was not interested.
Read the article
Independent Digital
John Henry Bragg, singer and songwriter: born Nashville, Tennessee 6 May 1926; married Gail Green (died 1977; one daughter); died Madison, Tennessee 1 September 2004.
In 1956, when "Just Walkin' in the Rain" was a No 1 record for Johnnie Ray, its writer, Johnny Bragg, was incarcerated as a convicted rapist in Tennessee State Prison. He was serving six consecutive life sentences - a total of 594 years.
Bragg became known as "Bucket Head" as he would write his songs with a bucket on his head to simulate echo. Nashville stars would sometimes perform at the prison and, when Bragg met Hank Williams, he asked, "Do you ever sing songs written by other people?" "Depends," said Williams, "Are you one of those other people?" Bragg sang Williams a song which Williams bought for $5. The song eventually became "Your Cheatin' Heart", a country standard.
In the winter of 1953, Bragg was walking across the courtyard to his duties in the laundry with a burglar, Robert Riley. The rain was beating down and Bragg said, "Here we are just walking in the rain and wondering what the girls are doing." Riley said, "That's a song." With a few minutes Bragg had written two verses and was convinced it was a hit. As he was illiterate, he asked Riley to write it down in exchange for a writing credit.
Bragg was released on parole in January 1959. He was 32 years old and had spent 15 years in prison for crimes he almost certainly did not commit. Unusually for a black performer, he sang on the Grand Ole Opry and he also opened for Sammy Davis Jnr in Las Vegas. He recorded the singles "True Love Will Never Die" and "Everything's Alright", showing that he could copy either Brook Benton or Jackie Wilson effectively. He met Johnnie Ray and gave him a follow-up, "Laughin' in the Rain", but Ray was not interested.
Read the article
Independent Digital
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 11:17 PM 
