The Late Great Johnny Ace and the Transition from R&B to Rock `N` Roll

With a recording career cut short after a mere 18 months by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Johnny Ace`s pleading, haunted voice linked the worlds of R&B and rock & roll in the years just before the advent of Elvis Presley. James M. Salem`s remarkably detailed investigation of the singer`s brief but tumultuous career, THE LATE, GREAT JOHNNY ACE, reveals a man almost predestined for life as a show business anti-hero. A high school dropout who was thrown out of the Navy, Ace also abandoned his wife and family at the first intimations of fame and fortune: paradoxically, his hit records highlighted his romantic tone. As Salem relates, Ace`s fixation with guns included the odd pastime of pointing them at his associates; he died at the age of 25 when, in trying to prove the innocuousness of this practice, he pointed a gun at his own head and pulled the trigger. In a fascinating and meticulously researched story, Salem expands his account of the singer`s career into a detailed and revealing look at the music business (and, incidentally, a short history of Russian roulette) just before the birth of rock & roll. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.