Ray Barber, born Michael Joseph Barbetta, was a singer in the early 1950s. He recorded with Mercury Records. He had a hit overseas in the UK entitled "Mary Rose". He was recording the song "Because Of You" when a young Tony Bennett was in the studio and heard it for the first time. In the early part of his career he was a regular on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts under the name of Johnny Caruso. He performed in the Catskills in the 60s and early 70s with the likes of Phyllis Diller and Soupy Sales. Later he moved to the small town of Plant City, Florida to retire and settle down with his wife Marie. When she died of cancer, he took up singing again. He amassed a following of fans in the local clubs until his death. Ray Barber died on June 30, 2009 at 10:00am in the Plant City Florida hospital. He will be buried in New York City next to his wife. 

January 8th, 1923 in   /  Died:   Jun 30th, 2009