"RAY PAUL PLAYS POWER POP!"
Born and raised in Rochester, New York, RAY PAUL was six years old when he first started collecting 45 rpm records and made his debut stage appearance lip-synching to Elvis Presley's version of "Hound Dog" for a hometown talent show. Ray Paul remembers, "Rochester had an incredibly healthy and thriving music scene back in the 1960's and early 1970's, along with a great AM radio station (WSAY) that had a show every weekday evening from 6 - 7 PM called "British Pop Concert" that not only played all the latest releases from Great Britain, but stuff that you knew you would never hear on any of the other hit stations. Then, following this show, a priest came on and read the Angelus prayer or said The Rosary. After he finished, they'd go right back to playing the hits. WSAY was a real trip, but I loved it."
Inspired by the likes of The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley and later The Beatles, RAY PAUL began playing the drums (in 1st band THE CENTURYMEN and THE MOST LTD.), and then switched over to guitar in his early teens (THE REGENT STREET V). Throughout the '60's and into the '70's, RAY PAUL performed in pop-rock groups THE RAILE, NASTY TONE and RAGAMUFFIN, who were heavily influenced by the British Invasion and classic pop songwriting, often highlighting his own compositions. Years of touring the clubs, schools and colleges of New York State and the Northeast led to concerts with his group RAGAMUFFIN, opening shows for such notables of the day as THE RASPBERRIES and TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS.
In August 1976, RAY PAUL relocated to Boston, MA and decided to spend most of his time writing and recording new songs, and seeking out the right musicians for a new band. Teaming up with drummer FRANK ROSSANO and with help from new-found friend MR. CURT, they began laying down tracks at Euphoria Sound Studios in Revere, MA. From these sessions came his debut single "LADY BE MINE TONIGHT" b/w "HOLD IT," released on February 22, 1978 on Euphoria Records.
"When I was living and performing in Boston, a local music journalist (& radio DJ CARTER ALAN) asked me, 'How do you describe your music?' Well, the Charles River separates Boston from Cambridge and joking around with him in a play on words on the well-known phrase Mersey Beat, I answered off the top of my head, 'THE CHARLES BEAT,' and it kind of stuck. When the September 1978 issue of WHAT'S NEW magazine came out, the headline of the cover story read: 'RAY PAUL & RPM FIND THE CHARLES BEAT.' What a kidder, huh?" .......Ray Paul (April 2000)
"RAY PAUL PLAYS POWER POP" was a catch phrase used to promote and describe his first single and an apt term for the sound to come from RAY PAUL & RPM. With the single still receiving local airplay in Boston on both major commercial FM rock stations WCOZ and WBCN, as well as college radio almost six months after its release, the band finally became a reality. In front of an SRO crowd jammed clear out the door and onto the sidewalk, RAY PAUL & RPM made its formal debut that brought the spirited house to its feet. It was apparent that RAY PAUL and his group could deliver in front of an audience. MARK ROWLAND, a former producer for VH-1's "BEHIND THE MUSIC," and former West Coast editor of MUSICIAN magazine, was at the time a staff writer and music journalist for the Boston weekly THE REAL PAPER who covered RAY PAUL & RPM. ROWLAND named the band in a feature article one of the Top Ten Breakout Acts of 1978, along with DEVO, JULES & THE POLAR BEARS, THE SHIRTS, NICK GILDER and PEZBAND among others.
In the REAL PAPER article, MARK ROWLAND said: "Since RAY PAUL's debut at the Inn Square Bar in Cambridge a scant two months ago, no local band has received nearly as much attention, and with good reason. RAY PAUL's compositions are melodic without sacrificing solid rock bottoms, and his voice (not to mention appearance) resembles pre-burnt out PAUL McCARTNEY so closely that the comparison is eerie."
In that short time of the band's first two months, RAY PAUL & RPM performed at THE PARADISE (opening a sold out show for CITY BOY) and a WBCN sponsored concert at THE ORPHEUM THEATRE, appeared on numerous television and radio shows, and continued to receive airplay. The Boston music monthly WHAT'S NEW named RAY PAUL "New Local Male Artist Of The Year" in their SOUNDS '78 AWARDS in the January 1979 issue.
AND WHAT WAS THE PRESS SAYING ABOUT RAY PAUL AND HIS DEBUT SINGLE?
"LADY BE MINE TONIGHT is a pleasant rocker with a nifty neo-rockabilly guitar lick, but HOLD IT cooks, burning along at a slower pace and building nicely...this McCartney look-alike has made a promising debut!" (TROUSER PRESS...June 1978)
"...a two-sided hit. LADY BE MINE TONIGHT is a snappy shuffle with RAY PAUL singing in McCartney-esque fashion...a power-pop perfect 2:35." (JAMES ISAACS/BOSTON PHOENIX....April 1978)
"...a subscriber to the Dwight Twilley/Tom Petty school..." (MELODY MAKER-UK...June 1978)
"RAY knows how to write rockets. He knows how to invent a good hook and incorporate it intelligently in his music. That's a critical factor ever present in his writing." (CARTER ALAN/WHAT'S NEW...Sept. 1978)
"Power Pop in the best tradition of THE RASPBERRIES and THE BEATLES. This 45 will sound great over radios and on the beach this summer." (MARK D. WILLIAMS/THE MUSIC MAN-Rhode Island...April 1978)
"Imagine. In late 1969 , Paul McCartney leaves The Beatles to strike out on his own. On his first record, he's a true solo, playing almost all the instruments, arranging and producing. Eventually, he gets a band together and begins his long awaited public appearances. They play 'Kansas City' and 'I'm Down.' They do not play 'Silly Love Songs' or 'Cook Of The House.' Sounds great, eh? Well, give or take a few details, that band is playing around this area these days. Only they're called RAY PAUL & RPM." (MICHAEL HOWELL/METROGUIDE-Boston, MA....October 1978)
TO BE CONTINUED......
COMING NEXT.....CHAPTER TWO: The Album release in 1980; the first Permanent Press single and the move to Los Angeles in 1981; and recording and performing again with EMITT RHODES.
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