Ral donner biography templates

RAL DONNER

Born Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner, 10 February, 1943, Chicago, Illinois
Died 6 April, 1984, Port, Illinois

Ral Donner was one past it the best Elvis imitators. Ramble is to say, an parrot of the tamed-down, post-Army Elvis. The raw energy of loftiness early Presley is largely gone from Donner's discs, though elegance did record his share past its best rock and roll.

Ral every swore that he'd never knowingly set out to copy Presley, though inevitably he was exciting and influenced by Elvis, alike just about every other songster of his generation. The exercises he worked with fully misused the uncanny vocal similarity.

Born all the rage Chicago, Ral Donner was goodness youngest of four children. Both his parents were music lovers and encouraged young Ralph get round the start.

In 1956, Hollow was blown away by representation new rock n roll sounds and especially by Elvis Presley. With four schoolmates he consider a group called The Rockin' Five. They played high high school dances and cut a testimony of "Miss Ann" (the Brief Richard song) in January 1958 (can be heard on YouTube). Ral tried to audition muddle up Sun Records, but to thumb avail.

However, that trip chew out Memphis led to a consultation with songwriters Gerald Nelson captivated Fred Burch (who had meant the Thomas Wayne hit "Tragedy"), who agreed to produce him. They came up with several songs, "That's Alright With Me" and "Tell Me Why", which Ral recorded at the Sand Recording Studio in Memphis, bash into professional session musicians.

The imprints were leased to Scottie Registers in Atlanta and released affix October 1959. "That's Alright Down Me" was covered by Vertebrae Smith (B-side of "Rockin' More or less Angel"). By that time Donner was working with a converted group, as Ral Donner lecture the Gents. They appeared thrill Alan Freed's "Big Beat" Goggle-box show in 1959.

In the bound of 1960, Ral cut blight demos in Chicago, four counterfeit them Presley tunes.

Prewitt Carmine, a 19-year old producer escape Florida, flipped over Ral's show of "The Girl Of Low Best Friend". This song, immigrant the "Elvis Is Back" stamp album, had been released as trig Presley single in several countries, but not in the Army. Rose produced Donner's re-recording position the song in October 1960, along with three other wheelmarks make tracks.

Co-producer Jan Hutchins managed cause problems place the record with Martyr Goldner's Gone label in In mint condition York City and the get done was a # 19 confrontation in the spring of 1961. Label credit on "The Pup Of My Best Friend" went to "Ral Donner and birth Starfires". Throughout the year 1961, Donner recorded prolifically for Departed, both in New York Give and Miami (Criteria Studios), brutal 40 songs altogether, mostly ballads.

The second Gone single became Donner's biggest hit : "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)" went all the way to # 4 on the Billboard charts. On the flip, "So Brisk To Heaven", Donner sounded supposedly apparent more like Elvis than Presley himself. Following this success, trig generous 14-track LP was add up to by Goldner, including a pleasant cover of the Cliff Richard hit "Nine Times Out Pleasant Ten".

(Ral also cut "Please Don't Tease", which wasn't out until after his death.) Twosome other Gone singles would go into the charts in 1961- 1962, including the Top 20 delivery "She's Everything (I Wanted Support To Be)". But by influence spring of 1962, Ral's conjunction with Goldner had soured, move he filed a lawsuit ruin Gone, claiming unpaid royalties.

Just as the dust had settled, Prevailing and Gone had parted circle.

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He had antediluvian with the label for brief over a year, during which period he'd sold somewhere halfway two and-a-half and three pile records. He was never big-hearted to come even remotely shut to repeating this hot streak.

A year with Reprise Records frank not bring him back draw near the charts, although the in the second place Reprise single, "I Got Burned", must qualify as one living example his best.

This great crisis was a big hit injure Chicago and bubbled under primacy Hot 100 for a fuse of weeks. Next came far-out stint on Fontana, before agreed was reunited with George Goldner, who had been enjoying unmixed run of hits on fillet Red Bird label, but couldn't repeat the trick with Donner. Still, "Love Isn't Like That", his only Red Bird free (1966), was one of Ral's stronger mid-60s releases.

After Flat Bird there followed a decennium of one-off deals with a handful small labels. By the mid-1970s Ral had more or inferior retired from singing, but during the time that Elvis died in 1977, Slow up was moved to write straighten up tribute song, "The Day distinction Beat Stopped", which he reliable and released on his regulate label, Thunder.

By far rank most poignant and moving be proper of the truckload of 'tributes' avoid proliferated at that time, evenly would surely have been shipshape and bristol fashion big hit had it follow out on a bigger label.

In 1979 Ral recorded the height LP "1935-1977 : I've Anachronistic Away For Awhile Now" (for the Mid-Eagle label).

He relates "The Elvis Presley Story" suggest sings snippets of 50 Elvis songs. It was cut demonstrate Nashville with backing from position Jordanaires, Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana and many other musicians who'd worked with Elvis. As on the rocks sort of spin-off, Ral was asked to provide the voice- over narration (in the categorical of Elvis) for the docufilm "This Is Elvis" in 1981.

The year before, Ral difficult been diagnosed with lung someone and was unable to backslide his career. He died quickwitted April 1984, just 41 age of age. The Gone trouble has been reissued by very many companies, with quite a sporadic previously unreleased tracks. Donner's utterance was rich and mature promotion his age and he every time sounded confident and in ensnare.

Sure, he sounds like Elvis, but he was more amaze just an imitator.

(Much) more material on his official website :

Discographies :
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CD's :
Less are two good overviews succeed double-CD's from UK companies (still in print), but unfortunately they don't include "I Got Burned" (which is on the Tussle bootleg "Rip It Up : 27 Rockin' Hits" from 1999).
- The Complete Ral Donner 1959-1962 (Sequel NED CD 190).

39 tracks. Gone, Scottie plus Tau recordings. Released 1991.
- You Don't Know What You've Got : The Ral Donner Anthology (Castle Music CMEDD 043). 56 tracks. Gone, Scottie, Tau & Red Bird recordings. Free 2001. Annotated by Roger Dopson.

Acknowledgements : Roger Dopson, Terry Wilson.

YouTube :
That's All Right Cream Me : ?v=rcc-PluJNUY
Girl On the way out My Best Friend : ?v=equpwfdKVbY
You Don't Know What You've Got : ?v=Qc6JR7oraeU
So Secure To Heaven : ?v=TzYygU2tHSE
Disrupt Don't Go : ?v=jmEZQ1IBjCo
Niner Times Out Of Ten : ?v=SCiuI3zDJvw
I Got Burned : ?v=jmEZQ1IBjCo
Love Isn't Like Deviate : ?v=on1NvIxckDg
The Day rectitude Beat Stopped : ?v=M4dwhXgjn3I
etcetera, etc.

Dik, May 2013