The Late Great Johnny Ace

I was reading a magazine And thinking of a rock and roll song The year was 1954 And I hadn't been playing that long When a man came on the radio And this is what he said He said, "I hate to break it to his fans But Johnny Ace is dead" Well, I really wasn't Such a Johnny Ace fan But I felt bad all the same So I sent away for his photograph And I waited 'til it came It came all the way from Texas With a sad and simple face And they signed it on the bottom From the late great Johnny Ace It was the year of the Beatles It was the year of the Stones It was 1964 I was living in London With the girl from the summer before It was the year of the Beatles It was the year of the Stones A year after J.F.K. We were staying up all night And giving the days away And the music was flowing amazing And blowing my way On a cold December evening I was walking through the Christmastide When a stranger came up and asked me If I'd heard John Lennon died And the two of us went to this bar And we stayed to close the place And every song we played was For the late great Johnny Ace