Johnny Ace

Born John Alexander in Memphis, TN, on June 9, 1929, R&B singer Johnny Ace served in the US Navy during World War II, and after his discharge he headed for New Orleans to become part of the Beale Street music scene. He performed as both a singer and pianist, and worked with the top acts of the day, including Bobby Bland and B.B. King, among others. He was signed by Duke Records in 1952 and turned out a prolific amount of records in just two years, including two #1 hits ("My Song" in 1952 and "The Clock" in 1953).

His most famous recording, "My Pledge of Love", hit #1 on the R&B charts in 1955 and even made it into the top 20 on the pop charts. The honors were posthumous, however; on Christmas night 1954 in Houston, Texas, Ace was backstage at the City Auditorium during an intermission in his show, and as a joke pulled out what he thought was an unloaded pistol, put it to his head and pulled the trigger. The gun, as it turned out, wasn't unloaded and he was killed instantly.