The Rays

The Rays were an American group formed in New York City in 1955, and active into the early 1960s.^[1] They first recorded for Chess Records. Their biggest hit single was "Silhouettes", a moderately-slow doo-wop piece of pop music that reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957 on Cameo after being initially released on the small XYZ Records.^[1] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[2] The song was written by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay, Jr.^[2] Also on XYZ, they had a minor hit with "Mediterranean Moon" a mid-chart hit with "Magic Moon" (by this time, XYZ was being nationally distributed by London Records).^{[citation needed]}

They also recorded the original version of "Daddy Cool",^[1] which was used as part of a medley with Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It", for the UK band Darts which made number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977.^[3] The song also lent its name to the Australian band Daddy Cool, who recorded the song in 1971.^{[citation needed]}

"Silhouettes" was also released by The Diamonds in 1957 reaching number 10 on the charts and later in a slightly faster cover version by Herman's Hermits in 1965, reaching number 5 on the US chart. It was also covered by Bob Dylan, but still unreleased, from his Basement Tapes sessions in the late 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

• Harold Miller – (lead singer) – (born Brooklyn, New York City)(Died In October, 2021)^[4]
• Walter Ford – (tenor) – (born Lexington, Kentucky)
• David Jones – (tenor) – (born Brooklyn, New York)(Died 1995)^[5]
• Harry James – (baritone) – (born Brooklyn, New York)^[2]

• 1957 "Silhouettes" US Black Singles number 3
• 1957 "Silhouettes" U.S. Pop Singles number 3
• 1960 "Mediterranean Moon" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number 95^[6]
• 1961 "Magic Moon (Clair de lune)" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number 49^[6]

• The Rays at AllMusic
• The Rays – brief history