Ray Whitley
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Raymond Otis Whitley (b. 5 December 1901, Atlanta, Georgia. d. 21 February 1979.)
Ray Whitley was a Country Music singer, Radio and Hollywood Movie Star. Whitley began his singing career in New York City in 1930. Whitley had traveled to New York where he was a construction worker on the Empire State Building. He formed The Range Ramblers and began to broadcast on WMCA. Ray Whitley traveled with the World Championship Rodeo Organisation, renaming his band The Six Bar Cowboys. Whitley was skilled in the use of the Bullwhip, and could remove a cigarette from a man's lips with a single stroke, using either hand.
In 1938, Whitley was signed to RKO Pictures and made 54 movies, alongside other cowboy actors of the day including Gene Autry. Whitley recorded for several record labels, including Okeh, Apollo Records and Decca. In 1937, Ray Whitley had worked with Gibson on the production of the famous Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar. Whitley used his own time and money to design a guitar which he took to Gibson. He explained the features and merits of the instrument, suggesting that by presenting them to other stars of the day, would really put the Gibson name on the musical instrument map. The J-200 has since become an American icon and has been played by hundreds of different guitarists over the years. Whitley was one of the first performers to own a Gibson J-200.[1]
In the late 1950s Whitley made appearances on the Roy Rogers TV specials, he also appeared in the feature film Giant starring James Dean, and it was Whitley who wrote Gene Autry's theme song, "Back In The Saddle Again".
Ray Whitley died on 21 February 1979, while on a fishing trip to Mexico.
- Ray Whitley's original J-200 is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
- Ray Whitley was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1981.
- Ray Whitley was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame in 1996.
[edit] Source
The Guinness Who's Who Of Country Music. Guinness Publishing 1993. ISBN 0-85112-726-6
