Ray Bourbon Melodies Very Rare and Excellent Condition

$

1,200

 Ray Bourbon Melodies

These records are extremely rare.  I cannot find any source for three of the titles, My Ace in the Hole (Imperial 103 A), Three Guesses (Imperial 103 B) or Fountain of Youth (Imperial 104 A)


In 1932, Ray Bourbon was working full-time as a female impersonator at such clubs as Jimmy's Back Yard in Hollywood and Tait's in San Francisco. (At this last club, in May 1933, his "Boys Will Be Girls" review was raided by police during a live radio broadcast.) In the later 30's and early 40's he headlined at the Rendezvous in Los Angeles and starred in his own revue, "Don't Call Me Madam."

These Records were released on the Imperial label.  Most issues on the Imperial label are 1940's releases of Bourbon's material, mostly in all-new recordings. Made in Hollywood around 1941, some of this material appears related to Bourbon's early 1940's Hollywood revue "Don't Call Me Madam". The only non-Bourbon Imperial release yet reported is by comedienne Ava Williams, who worked with Bourbon at the Rendezvous in the late 30's/early 40's; Williams confirms that these recordings were done in the early 40's.

These discs were pressed on both coasts: Hollywood and Scranton, with the latter credited to the Novelty Record Company. West coast labels (the more common) are more elaborate, black with silver print and with more extensive credits; east coast labels are black with greenish-gold print.  This set was pressed on the east coast.

This set of three records contains the following:

My Ace in the Hole (Imperial 103 A)

Three Guesses (Imperial 103 B)
 
Fountain of Youth (Imperial 104 A)

Tessie (Imperial 104 B)

Take a Lay/Take a Lei (Imperial 105 A)
-East coast pressing read "Lei"; West coast pressings read "Lay"

Chief Peanut Stand (Imperial 105 B)

The records are in excellent condition (near mint).  You can ask me for a link where you can hear a sample of one of the  records being played, My Ace in the Hole.


Throughout the 50's and 60's Bourbon entertained at hundreds of clubs throughout the US and released dozens of albums, certainly the most prolific female impersonator to have done the latter. Despite his knack for publicity (such as faking a sex change in 1956), by the late 1960's Bourbon had fallen on hard times. In 1968 while traveling through Texas with trailer containing over 70 dogs, his car burst into flames and he was forced to lodge the animals with kennel keeper A. D. Blount. He eventually found work at the Jewel Box Revue in Kansas City, but by then Blount had sold the dogs to a research facility since Bourbon was unable to pay for their keep. Bourbon hired two young men­ Bobby Eugene Chrisco and Randall Crane­to work Blount over, but they panicked and killed the kennel-keeper. Chrisco, Crane and Bourbon were all convicted as murder conspirators; as the mastermind, the 78 year old Bourbon was given a 99 year sentence. He died a short time later, on January 19, 1971 in the Howard County Texas prison.