McKinley, Ray, 1910-1995 (musician, bandleader) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1870-1995
Scope and Contents:
Subseries 2A: Photographs ca. 1870-1995
Subseries 2A includes black and white and color photographs and several sheets of black and white xerox copies of photographs. Since most of the photographs are not labeled, date identifications cannot be positive, but the photographs range in age roughly from the late 19th century to the 1990s. Images ranging from about 1930 to 1980 document Ray's activities with various bands and orchestras.
The photographs are divided into several subject groups, all of which document very different things. Photographs of Ray's musical career, for example, document the growth of a teenaged drummer trying out a pencil moustache into master showman leading his own orchestras well into old age. Of particular interest are two photographs of Ray and some band members with Louis Armstrong, who Ray's daughter describes as, "His idol!" The autographed photographs consist of publicity shots of various musicians and bands that Ray collected in his first few years as a professional musician. The personal and family photographs, which include a portrait of Ray's grandmother and snapshots of his great-grandfather document several generations of American family life. In his first few years, Ray wears a drop-waist dress and buckle shoes, and only a few decades later he sports an Air Force uniform for his wedding in a chapel at Yale. Photographs from the years that follow depict Ray, his wife, and his daughter together in every remaining decade of the century. The group of World War II photographs consist less of posed photographs of the whole band performing or traveling and more of shots of Ray, his friends and the European cities they encountered in their travels. These include photographs of servicemen assembled to hear the band play, wreckage from bombs, and band members relaxing.
Additional photos can be found in two photo albums assembled as thank-you gifts to the New Glenn Miller Orchestra for performances in Kyoto, Japan, and Yugoslavia. These albums and the photographs from them can be found in Subseries 2.2: Miscellaneous.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions. Contact the Archives Center for information.
Collection Citation:
Ray McKinley Music and Ephemera, ca 1945-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
