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He knows casino patrons want to hear the sounds of Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and Tom Jones, as well as the Rolling Stones and other rock 'n' roll. If you're just a blues band, they're gonna get bored quickly."
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"I knew how to cater to the gambling crowd," he says of the savvy Vegas venues.
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Johnny Ray's expertise in knowing what the gaming industry crowd wants in the form of entertainment, plus hiring an agent in the area, is what keeps his band busy. Once they secured their first booking in Las Vegas, the band was on a roll. They've played every season since then, but it is what happened three years into the gambling-cruise gig, in April 2000, that connected Johnny Ray to Vegas, altering the lifestyle of a local band. to 3 p.m., you can catch him singing the sounds of Ol' Blue Eyes at Mount Vernon on the Wharf in Revere, a venue where his Sinatra renditions are "well received," he says.įormer entertainment director for Horizon's Edge Casino Michael Tumulty hired the Johnny Ray Band as the house band for the maiden voyage of the Lynn-based casino cruise ship. In fact, "Sinatra Sundays" have helped shape his career. The Sinatra era has been good to Johnny Ray's career. One cannot help but notice the singer, who looks as though he arrived via time machine from Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack days. Like a hipster from back in the day, Johnny Ray, in his slick suit to match his pompadour hairstyle, enters the Red Rock Bistro in Swampscott for his Thursday night gig fronting "The Johnny Ray Band," fresh off a Vegas New Year's Eve gig in the V.I.P. Since then, the term has taken on a new definition, one of a male entertainer of dubious talent who frequents the same establishments.Įnter Johnny Ray, who lives a dual life from his home in Marblehead and his place in Las Vegas. The image of the lounge lizard was transformed by Saturday Night Live comedian Bill Murray, who created "Nick the Lounge Singer," the off-key performer in the skits of the late '70s and early '80s. Once referred to as the sleaze of Las Vegas, "lounge lizards" were found in an area that was once rundown and crime-infested, attracting gangsters, hookers and transients, but today has grown into an architecturally and aesthetically alluring tourist hot spot where, surprisingly, even children are accommodated. ▲Ī day in the life of Las Vegas performer Johnny Rayīefore its renaissance, Las Vegas was often described as "Lounge-Lizard Heaven," for the slithering bar patrons for whom this destination would be their last - before alcoholism robbed them of life. From left, guitarist and singer Carley Tanchon, Johnny Ray and guitarist Andy Sweeney perform as ‘The Johnny Ray Band’ at Red Rock Bistro, 141 Humphrey St., Swampscott.