James Ray

Career
Born James Jay Raymond in Washington, the diminutive (5') singer was discovered in 1961 while destitute and living on a rooftop, and began recording as James Ray for Caprice Records. His best-known hit was "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody," which reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962 and was also a top-10 R&B hit. The single was issued in the UK in 1962 as well, and was performed by The Beatles before it was discovered by Freddie and the Dreamers who took it into the UK top 5 the year after.

In the United States, Ray's single was followed by an eponymous album that contained the follow-up single "Itty Bitty Pieces," which reached #41 on the Hot 100, as well as a song called "Got My Mind Set On You". A severely edited version of this was released later in the year as a single on the Dynamic Sound label and reached #22. Many of Ray's songs were written by Rudy Clark.

Ray is believed to have died from a drug overdose in 1964.[citation needed]

[edit] Covers and tributes
The Beatles' George Harrison purchased a copy of Ray's album in 1963 when he went to the United States to visit his sister.[citation needed] Over two decades later he revived "Got My Mind Set On You" and took it to #1 in early 1988.

John Lennon included "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" on his jukebox, the contents of which were issued as a double album in 2004 after the jukebox itself was purchased at an auction. A cover of the song by Maxine Brown was released in 1967.[1]