Johnny Ace, born John Alexander in Memphis, Tennessee, was a highly successful blues and R&B pianist and singer, whose career was tragically cut short at the height of his fame when he died at the age of 25 in a bizarre shooting accident in his dressing room at a gig with Big Mama Thornton on Christmas Day 1954. Before that, he had made some noted recordings accompanying the likes of B.B. King and Bobby Bland, and had run up a string of R&B hits as a solo artist. This 51-track 2-CD set comprises the A & B sides of his releases under his own name on the Flair and Duke labels, plus recordings he made with B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Earl Forest and Junior Parker, along with tribute recordings to him made by other artists after his death. It features all his eight Top 10 R&B hits, including the No. 1s "My Song", "The Clock" and "Pledging My Love" and the Top 3 hits "Cross My Heart" and "Saving My Love For You", along with Johnny Moore & The Three Blazers' Top 20 tribute hit "Johnny Ace's Last Letter". It provides as thorough a cross-section of his solo output as could be achieved and also showcases his talents as an accompanying pianist.
- Disc 1 -
1 My Song
2 Follow the Rule
3 Cross My Heart
4 Angel
5 The Clock
6 Aces Wild
7 Midnight Hour's Journey
8 Saving My Love for You
9 Yes, Yes, Baby
10 Please Forgive Me
11 You've Been Gone So Long
12 Never Let Me Go
13 Burley Cutie
14 Pledging My Love
15 No Money
16 Anymore
17 How Can You Be So Mean
18 So Lonely
19 I'm Crazy Baby
20 Still Love You So
21 Don't You Know?
22 Shake It Up and Go
23 My Own Fault, Darlin'
24 Someday, Somewhere
25 Gotta Find My Baby
26 I Got a Gal
- Disc 2 -
1 Low Down Dirty Baby
2 I'm So Glad
3 Baby, Baby
4 Rock the Bottle
5 Whoopin' and Hollerin'
6 Pretty Bessie
7 I Wronged a Woman
8 I Can't Forgive You
9 Trouble and Me
10 Sad and Lonely
11 Rumpus Romp
12 Whole Heap of Mama
13 I Cried
14 Drifting from Town to Town
15 I.O.U. Blues
16 Lovin' Blues
17 Army Blues
18 No Blow, No Show
19 Wise Man Blues
20 Love My Baby
21 Johnny Ace's Last Letter
22 Why, Johnny, Why?
23 Johnny Has Gone
24 Salute to Johnny Ace
25 Johnny Ace's Last Letter