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Ray Campi | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Raymond Charles Campi |
| Born | (1934-04-20)April 20, 1934 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 11, 2021(2021-03-11) (aged 86) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Double bass, Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Dobro, Steel Guitar |
Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer, musician and songwriter, nicknamed "The Rockabilly Rebel". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his whitedouble bass, which he often jumped on top of and "rode" while playing. He was a member of theRockabilly Hall of Fame.
Campi was born in New York City in April 1934 and lived inYonkers, New York during his earliest years. After his family moved toAustin, Texas in 1944, Campi began a lifetime of performing and recording music in numerous genres, including Rockabilly,Folk,Country, andRock And Roll as well as Rockabilly. Early on he recorded onDomino Records.[2] In the 1950s, Campi recorded for several labels, includingDot Records, and recorded the first tribute record to the 1959Buddy Holly plane crash, "The Ballad of Donna and Peggy Sue," backed by theBig Bopper's band. He also worked with a diverse range of singers, includingMae West (who recorded his song "Caterpillar") andIan Whitcomb.
He rarely concentrated on his musical career exclusively, working a wide variety of jobs, notably twenty-five years, from 1967, spent as a junior high schoolteacher inVan Nuys, California. During these years, Campi was a teacher forDorsey Burnette. He fiercely criticized the mainstream music industry, in particular its connections withdrug culture.
His musical career took off in the early 1970s when he was rediscovered byRonny Weiser, the owner ofRollin' Rock Records. Soon after, Weiser purchased a double bass for him. But during the 1950s, Campi had been accustomed to playing guitar. After four days of practice, Campi recorded"Pan American Boogie" in Weiser's bedroom.
Soon afterwards, Campi began touring Great Britain and Europe more often and regularly played at festivals there. He also recorded with American, German, Finnish, British and Dutch Rockabilly bands for over two decades, and produced his own albums with artists such asRosie Flores, Bobby 'Fats' Mizell, and Ian Whitcomb. Ray performed on several solo albums byKevin Fennell, his lead guitarist from 1977 to 2015. He also performed and recorded with longtime musical associate Rip Masters.
Campi died in his sleep at home on March 11, 2021 at age 86 of natural causes.[3]
Many of Ray Campi's earliest 1950s recordings were not issued until the 1980s and 1990s, mostly on European albums. But the following were issued on 45-rpm and, in some cases, 78-rpm. "Caterpillar" was considered his most popular record until his revival in the 1970s.
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