Drummer, vocalist, composer and band leader Ray McKinley was born on June 18, 1910 in Fort Worth, Texas. His parents bought him his first drum set at the age of nine and by 15 he had begun a career playing with several of the territory bands in the mid-west.

He met his good friend Glenn Miller in 1929 while they were both playing with the Smith Ballew group. The two played together again in the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in 1934 before Miller left for Ray Noble’s band and eventually to start his own group. After the Dorsey brothers broke up McKinley stayed on with the Jimmy Dorsey band until 1939. In that year he teamed up with trombonist Will Bradley and the two fronted a band that specialized in boogie-woogie arrangements.

After a brief stint fronting his own ensemble, McKinley joined up with his old friend Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band and then co-led the group with Jerry Gray for a time after Miller’s disappearance in December of 1944. Following the war McKinley formed his own band but after a few years was unable to keep the group together due to changing public tastes and the economics of keeping a big band going. Following on the popularity of the movie “The Glenn Miller Story,” the Miller orchestra was re-formed and Ray led the band for ten years. He returned to lead the group again from 1973 until 1978. Ray McKinley passed away on May 7, 1995.

Ray McKinley was not a prolific composer, but the unique titles of his tunes are definitely memorable.  He wrote Beat Me Daddy (Eight to the Bar), Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat, Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four and the unforgettable Fry Me a Cookie with a Can of Lard.

Here is a link to Will Bradley and his Orchestra featuring Ray McKinley on drums and vocals from their 1940 recording of Beat Me Daddy (Eight to the Bar):

"BEAT ME DADDY (EIGHT TO THE BAR)"