Biography
Johnny Daye ranks among the strongest blue-eyed soul singers of the 1960s. His stage performances delivered raw electricity without artifice or calculation, featuring fluid slides, sudden dips, and rhythmic bops that evoked a fair-complected James Brown. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, he enjoyed only a short recording career. Johnny Nash placed him on Jomada Records, where the 1965 single “Marry Me”/“Give Me Back My Ring” appeared; Parkway-Cameo Records followed with “A Lot of Progress”/“You’re on Top” in 1966, and Blue Star Records later issued “I’ll Keep on Loving You.” The late Otis Redding introduced Daye to Stax Records, where he recorded two singles under the supervision of Steve Cropper, guitarist for Booker T & the MG’s. The first of those, “What I’ll Do for Satisfaction”/“I Need Somebody,” failed to chart, as had all of Daye’s previous releases. Janet Jackson later recorded her own version of “What I’ll Do for Satisfaction” for the 27-track Janet album in 1993. The second Stax single, “Stay Baby Stay,” stands as an aching, deep-fried soul ballad that the label left unpromoted. Those Stax sides remain Daye’s final known recordings; he never released an LP and then appeared to vanish completely.