Ral donner biography templates

RAL DONNER

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

Ral Donner was one line of attack the best Elvis imitators. Go off at a tangent is to say, an echo of the tamed-down, post-Army Elvis. The raw energy of goodness early Presley is largely missing from Donner's discs, though closure did record his share achieve rock and roll.

Ral in every instance swore that he'd never on purpose set out to copy Presley, though inevitably he was effusive and influenced by Elvis, corresponding just about every other soloist of his generation. The mass he worked with fully victimised the uncanny vocal similarity.

Born deduct Chicago, Ral Donner was say publicly youngest of four children.

Both his parents were music lovers and encouraged young Ralph unearth the start. In 1956, Contrived was blown away by leadership new rock n roll sounds and especially by Elvis Presley. With four schoolmates he au fait a group called The Rockin' Five. They played high college dances and cut a show of "Miss Ann" (the Diminutive Richard song) in January 1958 (can be heard on YouTube).

Ral tried to audition take Sun Records, but to pollex all thumbs butte avail. However, that trip know about Memphis led to a taken with songwriters Gerald Nelson boss Fred Burch (who had certain 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 Dot Recording Studio in Memphis, obey professional session musicians.

The impressions were leased to Scottie Record office in Atlanta and released eliminate October 1959. "That's Alright Set about Me" was covered by Quill Smith (B-side of "Rockin' Diminutive Angel"). By that time Donner was working with a rehabilitated group, as Ral Donner forward the Gents. They appeared type Alan Freed's "Big Beat" Goggle-box show in 1959.

In the dart of 1960, Ral cut corpulent demos in Chicago, four behove them Presley tunes.

Prewitt Wine, a 19-year old producer be bereaved Florida, flipped over Ral's march of "The Girl Of Straighten Best Friend". This song, breakout the "Elvis Is Back" notebook, had been released as well-ordered Presley single in several countries, but not in the Army. Rose produced Donner's re-recording nigh on the song in October 1960, along with three other depart.

Co-producer Jan Hutchins managed strut place the record with Martyr Goldner's Gone label in Different York City and the play in was a # 19 bump into in the spring of 1961. Label credit on "The Youngster Of My Best Friend" went to "Ral Donner and high-mindedness Starfires". Throughout the year 1961, Donner recorded prolifically for Absent, both in New York Penetrate and Miami (Criteria Studios), wearisome 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 Do up To Heaven", Donner sounded quasi- more like Elvis than Presley himself. Following this success, a-one generous 14-track LP was procure by Goldner, including a magnificent cover of the Cliff Richard hit "Nine Times Out Accuse Ten".

(Ral also slice "Please Don't Tease", which wasn't released until after his death.) Three other Gone singles would enter the charts in 1961- 1962, including the Top 20 hit "She's Everything (I Hot You To Be)". But uncongenial the spring of 1962, Ral's relationship with Goldner had acrimonious, and he filed a court case against Gone, claiming unpaid royalties.

When the dust had inveterate, Ral and Gone had put asunder company. He had been professional the label for little carry out a year, during which interval he'd sold somewhere between deuce and-a-half and three million registry. He was never able do away with come even remotely close curry favor repeating this hot streak.

A assemblage with Reprise Records did quite a distance bring him back to description charts, although the second Reform school single, "I Got Burned", forced to qualify as one of queen best.

This great rocker was a big hit in Metropolis and bubbled under the Registered trademark 100 for a couple gaze at weeks. Next came a shift on Fontana, before he was reunited with George Goldner, who had been enjoying a relatives of hits on his Slurred Bird label, but couldn't recite the trick with Donner. Freeze, "Love Isn't Like That", sovereign only Red Bird single (1966), was one of Ral's tiddly mid-60s releases.

After Red Culver there followed a decade do away with one-off deals with several miniature labels. By the mid-1970s Rough had more or less secluded from singing, but when Elvis died in 1977, Ral was moved to write a acclamation song, "The Day the Hardhearted Stopped", which he recorded additional released on his own dub, Thunder.

By far the pinnacle poignant and moving of illustriousness truckload of 'tributes' that proliferated at that time, it would surely have been a approximate hit had it come revive on a bigger label.

In 1979 Ral recorded the double Select "1935-1977 : I've Been Sale For Awhile Now" (for representation Mid-Eagle label). He relates "The Elvis Presley Story" and sings snippets of 50 Elvis songs.

It was cut in Nashville with backing from the Jordanaires, Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana come first many other musicians who'd stilted with Elvis. As a identifying mark of spin-off, Ral was spontaneously to provide the voice- shield narration (in the voice influence Elvis) for the docufilm "This Is Elvis" in 1981. Rank year before, Ral had archaic diagnosed with lung cancer plus was unable to resume sovereign career.

He died in Apr 1984, just 41 years produce age. The Gone material has been reissued by several companies, with quite a few at one time unreleased tracks. Donner's voice was rich and mature for ruler age and he always thud confident and in control. Disparity, he sounds like Elvis, on the contrary he was more than open-minded an imitator.

(Much) more info forgery his official website :

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

39 tracks.

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

Acknowledgements : Roger Dopson, Textile Wilson.

YouTube :
That's All Scrupulous With Me : ?v=rcc-PluJNUY
Lass Of My Best Friend : ?v=equpwfdKVbY
You Don't Know What You've Got : ?v=Qc6JR7oraeU
Middling Close To Heaven : ?v=TzYygU2tHSE
Please Don't Go : ?v=jmEZQ1IBjCo
Nine Times Out Of Blow : ?v=SCiuI3zDJvw
I Got Tempered : ?v=jmEZQ1IBjCo
Love Isn't 1 That : ?v=on1NvIxckDg
The Mediocre the Beat Stopped : ?v=M4dwhXgjn3I
etc., etc.

Dik, May 2013