Ray Peterson - Tell Laura I Love Her (14 tracks) +Album Reviews

12 + 2 Makes It Even Better

Leganto | USA | 01/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What fascinated me about Ray Peterson in the 1960s was that he had polio, taught himself to sing, and had a range of 3 and a half octaves. I owned the vinyl LP album of this name and probably wore out some of the cuts: not only Tell Laura I Love Her and The Wonder of You, but also Fever, Answer Me My Love, and Goodnight My Love. The original album had Ray's RCA songs, before he moved to Dune. Now the CD includes not only the 12 RCA songs, but also the Dune hits Corrina Corrina and Missing You. A great replacement for what I had before.The only thing missing are the other Dune songs, such as Sweet Little Kathy, I Could Have Loved You So Well, and You Thrill Me. This last one is actually good for a laugh. Hope to be able to acquire them on CD someday."

One of the greats!

Leganto | 10/24/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Ray Peterson when I was a thirteen... first saw him live at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in 1961... met him two years later... and became good friends, inaugerating the Ray Peterson Humanitarian Award... then I moved to Australia and we lost contact...Today I am still amazed at how little appreciated this wonderfully versatile singer is. He is certainly one of the most dynamic live performers I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few. With a four and a half octave vocal range, and a way round a lyric that few rock performers of the late 50s and early 60s ever commanded, Ray Peterson's is one of the classic voices of pre-British Invasion American pop. A great, virtuoso performer, his renditions of songs like Fever, Tell Laura I Love Her, What Did You Wanna Make Those Eyes At Me For? and Answer Me, place him very near the pinnacle of the best in his field. This album attests to that.Ray, if you're reading this, PLEASE contact me on tutamajack@hotmail.com Thanks for the memories... and for the rest of you, BUY this album!!! and discover a singer who will astound...BM"

RAY PETERSON IS UNIQUE!!

Marco A. Garcia | BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS | 03/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"RAY PETERSON MAKES ME REMINISCE ABOUT MY TEEN YEARS. I USED TO LISTEN TO HIM ON "WHERE THE ACTION IS" AND "SHINDIG." PETERSON HAS A UNIQUELY MELLOW VOICE AND YET HAS A TREMENDOUS VOCAL RANGE. I PARTICULARLY LIKE HIS RENDITION OF "THE WONDER OF YOU." I THINK IT IS FAR SUPERIOR TO "THE KING'S(ELVIS) RENDITION."

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.

Marco A. Garcia | BrownsvilleTX USA | 10/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD made me reminisce back to the days that I was dancing with my favorite girl at the prom. It really brought back memories."

A Pleasant If Not Remarkable Early Sixties Sound

Marco A. Garcia | 08/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Born on April 23, 1939 in Denton, Texas, Ray was signed to an RCA Victor contract in 1958 after he moved to LA. His first few efforts were chart flops [Let's Try Romance, Tail Light, the rocking Shirley Purley, and Fever - only the last is included here at track 7], but in 1959, with the backing of SHorty Rogers & His Orchestra, he scored with The Wonder Of You which went to # 25 Billboard Hot 100 in July (Elvis would later take it to # 9 in 1970), b/w I'm Gone (tracks 2 and 12).

Later that year his cover of the 1956 Jesse Belvin R&B hit (# 7) and McGuire Sisters Pop hit (# 32), Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams) stalled at # 64 Hot 100 in December b/w Till Then (tracks 6 and 4). Then came what is arguably the most famous "death disc" of all time, Tell Laura I Love Her, which peaked at # 7 Hot 100 in August 1960 b/w Wedding Day (which is not included here).

Ray then left RCA to form his own label, Dunes, and before the year was out had revived another 1956 hit, Big Joe Turner's rocking Corrina, Corrina (# 2 R&B/# 46 Top 100) which was produced by Phil Spector. In January 1961 Peterson's rendition peaked at # 9 Hot 100 b/w Be My Girl. As with the previous selection, the A-side is here but not the flipside.

After Sweet Little Kathy (also missing from this set) could only manage to squeak into the Hot 100 in April 1961 b/w You Didn't Care (missing as well), he at least had the satisfaction, as a label owner, of seeing one of his new artists, Curtiss Lee, take Pretty Little Angel Eyes to # 7 Hoy 100 in August.

A couple of months later Ray himself came back strong with a cover of the 1967 Webb Pierce C&W hit Missing You (track 14), which made it to # 7 on the recently-introduced Adult Contemporary charts and # 29 Hot 100 b/w You Thrill Me (not here), followed shortly by another Spector-produced hit, I Could Have Loved You So Well, which peaked at # 57 Hot 100 in January 1962 b/w a cover of the 1955 The Jacks hit Why Don't You Write Me (neither included here). He then experienced several failures before he took Give Us Your Blessing to # 70 Hot 100 in June 1963 (The Shangri-Las would have a # 29 hit with the same song in 1965), b/w a cover of the 1957 Clyde McPhatter hit Without Love (There Is Nothing) - both not included in this volume.

Ironically, his last charter was the same song that became his first hit, when RCA Victor re-released The Wonder Of You b/w Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams), and this time the A-side topped out at # 70 Hot 100 in May of 1964.

After signing with MGM, and a spate of chart failures, he tried his hand at pure country sounds, but without any chart success.

Still, not a bad album and one which could have been a 5-star entry with the inclusionm of those missing sides."

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