RAY MCKINLEY
Genres: Big Band, Swing • United States

McKinley, Ray drums, singer, bandleader Born; Fort Worth, Texas 6-18-1910 Died; 5-7-1995 The drumming of Ray McKinley was a driving force that contributed greatly to the success of Jimmy Dorsey before WWII and the Glenn Miller American Band Of The Allied Expeditionary Forces during the war. As part of the Will Bradley aggregation, which he co-led between his stints with Dorsey and Miller, his personable and humorous vocals were an added attraction. McKinley's first sides were recorded with Red Nichols for the Brunswick record label. Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey were also members of this nine piece Nichols group that waxed five sides over two sessions in the spring and early summer of 1931. In 1932 McKinley again worked with Glenn Miller in the Smith-Ballew band as well as in the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in 1934-5. In May of 1934 he recorded four sides with a Benny Goodman small group that included Charlie and Jack read more...