Summary: Authors Steve Bergsman and R. Gary Patterson discuss the mysterious death of Johnny Ace. Johnny Ace was considered one of the first African-American pop stars with a string of eight consecutive hits on the R&B Charts and becoming the most radio programmed artist of his day. Before launching his solo career, he was a member of the Beale Streeters with some of the biggest artist of the time, including B.B. King, Junior Parker, Willie Nix, Rosco Gordon and Earl Forest. At the height of his career, on Christmas evening, Johnny mysteriously died backstage from a single gunshot wound to the head. The cause of death was reported as Russian roulette and one police detective stated he succumbed to “pistolitis.”
