England's Jimmy Ray is a pure pop star in the making. He's hit our shores with a classic neo-rockabilly look, great personal charisma, and a self-titled debut album set for release on March 10, 1998.

Jimmy Ray is an artist in the tradition of Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard, Marc Bolan (T. Rex) and David Essex: all great pop idols of their time, whose music has proven surprisingly durable down through the years. And unlike Elvis or Cliff, Jimmy wrote or co-wrote (with producer Con Fitzpatrick) every song on his album. His music combines the spirit of the Fifties with the feel of the Nineties, and relies as much on acoustic guitars and Hammond organ as on samples and drum loops.

"Are You Jimmy Ray?" is the lead track and video, with a commercial single in stores February 3. With its modified Bo Diddley beat and insistent chorus ("Are you Johnnie Ray?/Are you Stingray?/Are you Fay Wray?/Are you Jimmy Ray?" ), it's as silly, pleasurable and memorable a song as "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis (1963), "Rock On" by David Essex (1973), or "Mmmm-Bop" by Hanson (1997). ...and there are plenty more hits where that one came from, including the flashy, horn-flavored "Goin' To Vegas"; "Way Low," possibly the first–ever fusion of dancehall and rockabilly; and "Daddy's Got A Gun," a sort of theme song for an unmade western movie.