While Elvis Presley recorded Pledging My Love in his last studio session in 1976. Pledging My Love appeared on the Moody Blue album, which premiered in 1977 and was a #1 Country & Western hit for Elvis. However, Elvis’ single didn’t make it as high up the pop charts as Johnny’s original version. Although there were other versions of Ace’s hit, none of the subsequent versions ever hit as high on the charts as Johnny’s original hit.

Johnny’s Singles Resung Again by Music Artists

Even after his death, Johnny’s musical influence rang on in movies and in artists playing versions of his songs. His #1 hit, Pledging My Love, was used in the films Mean Streets, Christine, and Back to the Future. Aretha Franklin also covered a version of My Song in 1968 as the flip side of the track SeeSaw. Dave Allen wrote the song Johnny Ace was Dead in 2011, and another band created A Johnny Ace Christmas for one of their albums.

Paul Simon Writes and Performs The Late Great Johnny Ace

Paul Simon writes The Late Great Johnny Ace. Upon hearing this song, a boy orders a photograph of the singer. Noting that Kennedy and Lennon became the Johnny Aces of their time, Simon adds a one-minute coda by Johnny Glass.

First performed during the Simon & Garfunkel reunion conference, an audience member rushes the stage as Paul is singing his song in NYC. In Central Park, just feet away from where John Lennon was shot and killed, Paul talked to the man who rushed the stage. He later talks about this experience while performing on the David Letterman show in 1982. Halfway through performing the Johnny Ace song, one of his guitar strings broke. Simon commented that he didn’t know if he would ever sing the song again as he was so choked up from the song.

Finishing and performing the Johnny Ace song on Saturday Night Live in 1986, on the 23rd anniversary of the JFK assassination.

Listen in to discover why Paul Simon wrote the song about Johnny Ace even though he wasn’t a huge fan of the singer, how his music has affected music industry culture, and our final reflections on Johnny Ace.

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Johnny Ace’s song, which became a #1 hit, Pledging My Love, his eighth #1 Billboard hit in R&B. Billboard Magazine was just starting an R&B section for the new year, right after the death of Johnny Ace. The section measured record sales and jukebox plays and included buying the single Pledging My Love as the best buy for the week. Unfortunately, since the news industry ran at a slower pace, not everyone knew about Ace’s death when it occurred. This episode covers how the information about Johnny Ace’s passing moved through the music industry and listeners.

What the Press Had to Say About Johnny Ace

The Pittsburgh Courier stated, "Johnny Ace trumped his own ace, in a dangerous game. They carried his body back to the Cradles of the Blues to whence it sprang. He played well, but not wisely. That’s when the Blues walked in, and they carried Johnny out.”

January 1st, 1955, Billboard Magazine proclaimed, “Out of the many things to be thankful for on the R&B scene, Johnny Ace was high on the list - especially coming off eight hits in a row.” Although the magazine was behind in the news, they kept pitching him without letting his audience know that Johnny was dead.

After the initial publication at the beginning of the year, Billboard Magazine added an additional commentary in the following week’s publication. “The recent death of Ace gave an impetus that would have probably been heavy for sales in any case. It’s spiraling upwards at dazzling speed and is almost as popular with pop customers as with R&B.”

Producing His Last Song - Pledging My Love by Johnny Ace

We feel that this last song production was of better quality than the previous productions. The melody was tighter, and it seemed more professional. This hit eluded a culmination of skills and talents that Johnny accrued over his short and brief time in the music industry.

Listen in to discover how Johnny’s death affected his music sales, why we feel that his last love song was his best work, how Don Robey reacted to his death, and why he moved the dates of his death to heighten and romanticize the scandal surrounding Johnny Ace’s passing.

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In the days that followed, the press wrote about Ace’s death. Broadcast in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, the day after Christmas, Johnny’s death was heart-wrenching. Having been booked through the winter holidays and the months that followed, his band and Evelyn Johnson, his booking agent, had to move forward and cancel all future shows. To her surprise, many of the venues asked Evelyn to send the band, regardless of whether or not Johnny was going to be there.

The Band’s Reaction After Johnny’s Death

Cutting himself down at the height of his popularity playing Russian Roulette backstage during a winter holiday show, Johnny died in between sets during his show at Christmas time, 1954. Since his friends and band members were distraught after his death, they didn’t want to or feel like playing music.

Friends and Family’s Reaction to Johnny Otis’ Death

Johnny Borg was on stage at the time of Ace’s death, playing the piano. He and BB King had a similar opinion about Johnny Ace - he had guts, but that you shouldn’t dare Johnny to do something dangerous because he would do it.

After his death, one of his friends commented that Johnny Ace the man was dead, and Johnny Ace the Legend was just born.

Press Coverage of Johnny Ace’s Death

Although the black press and the New York Times covered Johnny’s death, the white press wouldn’t mention him or his death in the papers. The New York Times on December 26th stated, “A Memphis Tennessee Band leader was shot to death playing Russian Roulette last night, while holding a pretty girl on his lap, during a dressing room party.”

The police noted that John Alexander, 26 years old, leader and featured singer of the Johnny Ace band, died at the height of a Christmas Night dance in the city auditorium. It wasn’t clear that John Alexander and Ace were the same people, as the report focused on the fact that he died playing Russian Roulette.

Listen in to discover why Johnny’s music wasn’t listened to outside of his core market, how the southern white press affected his music career, how the white press and black press differed in their storytelling of Ace’s death, and why his funeral was delayed a week.

Postscript

Covering popular American music, The Silver Jews and David Berman, who recently passed away, will be missed as an icon of American Music. He was a songwriter and lyricist, held in high esteem for the lyrics he wrote during his career. Having recently released the album Purple Mountains, David, and his band were about to go on tour to promote the new record when he passed away. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

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