Ray Harris registers as little more than a passing reference in accounts of Sun Records. Only two singles ever appeared on the label’s familiar yellow pressings, yet their appearance secures his mention in rock histories because both stand among the most visceral and unrefined rockabilly performances captured at Sun or anywhere during the 1950s. Born in Mississippi, he first worked as a conventional country vocalist until exposure to Elvis Presley prompted him to conclude that the same approach might deliver identical commercial returns. Relocating to Memphis with nothing beyond a fierce determination to break into recording, he assembled a compact band explicitly to cut material for Sam Phillips and gain entry to the Sun roster. The resulting sides, “Come On Little Mama” and “Greenback Dollar Watch & Chain,” moved briskly in local markets yet proved too unpolished for broadcast on stations north of the Mason-Dixon line. After contributing lead guitar to scattered Sun sessions, among them those of Jimmy Wages, Harris crossed to the control room and established himself as a producer at Hi Records throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s.
