On This Day in 1956, Johnnie Ray Was at No. 1 With a Song Written and Originally Recorded by Prison Inmates

On this day (November 12) in 1956, Johnnie Ray was atop the Official UK Singles Chart with “Just Walkin’ in the Rain.” The song retained the top spot for seven weeks and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years earlier, a group of inmates at the Tennessee State Prison in Nashville called the Prisonaires released it, finding success on the R&B chart.

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Johnny Bragg and Robert Riley were doing time in the Tennessee State Prison. One afternoon, they were crossing the compound in the rain when Bragg said, “Here we are just walking in the rain and wondering what the girls are doing.” According to Songfacts, Riley suggested that they write a song around the statement. Soon, Bragg had composed the lyrics. However, he was illiterate, so he offered to share songwriting credit with Riley if he wrote down the lyrics.

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Bragg formed the Prisonaires with four other inmates. Then, a radio producer preparing a news broadcast from the prison heard them singing. He then got them to perform on the radio. The broadcast caught the ear of Sun Records head Sam Phillips. He arranged for the group to be transported under armed guard to Memphis to record “Just Walkin’ in the Rain.” The song sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Johnnie Ray Didn’t Want to Record “Just Walkin’ in the Rain”

Originally, Johnnie Ray didn’t want to record “Just Walkin’ in the Rain.” He didn’t like the song. However, producer Mitch Miller pushed him to cut the song. At that time, Ray hadn’t had a top 10 hit in the United States since “Somebody Stole My Gal” reached No. 8 on the Hot 100 in 1953.

1953 and ’54 saw Ray’s singles consistently landing within the top 40. However, he failed to find another major hit. Then, in 1955, his chart success took a nosedive. That year, he released five singles. Four failed to chart and one peaked at No. 100. “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” his first single of 1956, also failed to chart.

“Just Walkin’ in the Rain” kicked off a short string of hits in the United States and the United Kingdom. While he never reached the same level of success again in the United States, he was much more successful across the pond, where he scored another No. 1 later in the year.

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