The Intro

‘Mr Emotion’ Johnnie Ray’s third and final UK number 1 toppled the Andy Williams hit, Butterfly.

Before

Yes Tonight Josephine had been written by Winfield Scott, who later co-wrote Return to Sender for Elvis Presley (along with Otis Blackwell), and Dorothy Goodman, of which I know nothing. Unlike lots of Ray’s material, this is a bouncy, upbeat number, along the lines of Ray’s first number 1, 1954’s Such a Night. Once again, Mitch Miller was in charge of production. Although he certainly had the magic touch back then, and helped make Ray the Christmas number 1 in 1956 with Just Walkin’ in the Rain, I think on this occasion Ray could have done better.

Review

Yes Tonight Josephine isn’t a bad song. Ray, as always, performs well. But it’s ruined by some bizarre backing vocals that smother the song and make it too laughable to enjoy fully.

‘(Yip yip way bop de boom ditty boom ditty)
(Yip yip way bop de boom)’

I think they’re supposed to represent Ray’s anticipation of his upcoming night with Josephine, but they come across like a man with Tourette’s. Miller was straying too far into novelty song territory. Understandable, as that was his comfort zone.

After

Sadly, Ray’s career declined after this, and with that, his personal problems increased. He was arrested again in 1959 for soliciting an undercover officer, and went to trial but was found not guilty. In 1960 he was hospitalised with tuberculosis, and this caused him to give up alcohol. When he eventually appeared on local television in Chicago in 1966, he looked emaciated. A doctor told Ray in 1969 that he was well enough to drink an occasional glass of wine. For someone with an addiction to alcohol, this was never going to end well. He became an alcoholic once more and the music took a permanent back seat.

The Outro

Johnnie Ray died of liver failure on 24 February 1990, aged 63. It was a tragic but inevitable end for a tortured soul. Had Ray been around in more enlightened times, his sexuality wouldn’t have been an issue and he may have been happier. At the same time, his troubles helped make him so distinctive, intense and influential.

The Info

Written by

Winfield Scott & Dorothy Goodman

Producer

Mitch Miller

Weeks at number 1

3 (7-27 June)

Trivia

Births

22 June: Broadcaster Danny Baker

Deaths

27 June: Author Malcolm Lowry

Meanwhile…

13 June 195: A bus collided with a queue of people waiting at an Oxford Street bus stop, killing eight.

27 June: The Medical Research Council issued a report that revealed there was evidence to support a link between smoking and lung cancer.