RIP Ray Campi

Chance Wilson · Post by **Chance Wilson** » 14 Mar 2021 11:09 am

Ray was a really nice guy. I always remember seeing him at BBQs when I was passing through So Cal. Like other artists that were against corporatized music, he was probably bigger in Europe than the US. He sang & played a white doghouse bass with stars and bars on the back and climbed all over it.

Fuzzy told me back when Ferlin came around, Husky was a wild man and would stop playing bass to do stage dives and such (J. Sheppard was a Cal bass player too). I imagine Ray was about as close as one could get to seeing those kind of shows & while Ferlin & Jean went on to Nashville, Ray just kept to it for another 70 years or so.

Here he is with Rose Maddox & Merle Travis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OGrUIckBqI

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 14 Mar 2021 12:21 pm

Sorry to hear that......I first heard him around 1970. Got to see him perform in the mid 1970s in San Francisco. He loved to sing Jimmy Skinner songs.

He did a lot to promote and perform both traditional country and rockabilly over the last 50 years....in Europe and the US....after beginning a school teacher career.

Here he is circa 1951 with Bert Rivera and circa 1980 with Hank Ballard.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 14 Mar 2021 2:32 pm

Very sorry to hear about Rays' passing. I played with him many times, either at Ronnie Mack's Barndance, or at various gigs around LA. He was the real deal, and I'll miss him, his enthusiasm, and the absolute joy he beamed out to the world when he was jumping on his upright bass, rockin' the house down.
Plus, he drove a really cool Cadillac...
Vaya con Dios, Ray...till we meet again.

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 14 Mar 2021 3:22 pm

Is this his 59 Caddy, Skip?

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 14 Mar 2021 9:35 pm

Probably...
The one he recently used to drive to gigs was a '90's era Coupe DeVille. It was at least 20 feet long & he'd have his bass in the back seat.