Ricky May - Recordings

Recordings

At the end of 1961, Ricky got fed up with Wellington weather and headed back to Auckland. He released a single in 1961 called "Let's Twist Again"/"Hucklebuck" on the La Gloria label and followed this with a second in 1962, "I Could Have Danced All Night"/"Ballin' The Jack".

In 1966 Ricky released another single for RCA (Bluebird Records) called "This Little Boy's Gone Rockin' "/"Spanish Harlem".

Beyond this he concentrated on live cabaret performances and television work. It wasn't until 1973 that he released any further material. This was a double album with the Julian Lee Orchestra called "Fats Enough", released on ABC records. In 1974 ABC decided to release a second double album, which was called "Just Foolin' Around - A Tribute To Louis Armstrong". In 1983, the first half of this double album was re-released on CD, called "A Tribute To The Greats". 1981 saw the J&B released album called "Ricky May" and ABC records released "The Best Of Ricky May" in 1983 on CD. In 1986 RCA released a Christmas album called "It's The Christmas Man".

Ricky was involved in one more single in 1983, when he recorded a song as The Big Boys with Jonathan Coleman. It was called "Built For Comfort (I Ain't Built For Speed)"/"Off The Record".

Ricky is credited as the composer of the words and music of the team song of the Newtown Jets Rugby League football club.. May is also credited with writing a tribute song to the show Hey Hey It's Saturday, an arrangement of which the band often played over the final credits.

Successful singles

• "Let's Twist Again"/"Hucklebuck" La Gloria (1961)
• "I Could Have Danced All Night"/"Ballin' The Jack" La Gloria (1962)
• "This Little Boy's Gone Rockin' "/"Spanish Harlem" RCA (1966)
• "Built For Comfort (I Ain't Built For Speed)"/"Off The Record" WEA 7-259903 (1983)

Successful albums

• "Ricky May" J&B JB-057 (1980)
• "Fats Enough" ABC L-60011/12 (1983)
• "It's The Christmas Man" Festival L-38686 (1986)
• "Just Foolin' Around - A Tribute To Louis Armstrong" ABC L-60027 (1987)