Personal life He was born in
Delano, California and grew up in the area. His brothers worked at a fast food stand, and behind the stand was a jukebox. As a boy, he would sing along with it. He would memorize songs heard on the jukebox by artists such as
Elvis Presley,
Little Richard, and
Fats Domino. Later he moved to
Los Angeles. He was schooled at Salesian and Garfield High Schools.
Music career He started singing professionally in the late 1950s. His first single, "There Is Something On Your Mind," was released on Dore Records in or around 1960. In 1962, with backing band
The Premiers, he recorded a live single, "Shake, Shout And Soul," which was recorded at the
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The single was backed with "Soul & Stomp," and released on
Tony Hilder's
Impact Records label. ;Thee Midnighters Another single he recorded for Hilder's Impact label was "Loretta," backed with "My Girl." This one was released under the name of Lil' Ray & Thee Midniters. For a brief period of time, he was the lead singer for
Thee Midnighters. In 1964, Jimenez left the group, (and was replaced as lead singer by Willie Garcia, a.k.a. "Little Willie G."). ;Post 1964 In 1965, he recorded a single for the Donna label. The A side was "I Who Have Nothing," a cover of a Ben E. King song, and the B side, "I Been Trying," was written by
Arthur Lee, who went on to form the group
Love. Lee was also the producer. "I Who Have Nothing" also appears on the 1997 compilation,
Black Beauty & Rarities, which is a compilation of early recordings by Arthur Lee, Ronnie & The Pomona Casuals, and other related artists, (including Little Ray). For a brief period, he and Thee Midnighters singer Willie Garcia formed a group called God's Children. They would record the theme song for the short lived TV series
Matt Lincoln, "Hey, Who Really Cares" (aka "Hey, Does Somebody Care"), written by
Oliver Nelson and
Linda Perhacs. ;2000s In 2012, he was fronting the group Starfire, which included
Carlos Santana's son
Salvador Santana. ==Discography==