Ray Price (musician)
Encyclopedia
Ray Price is an American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music. His more well-known recordings include "Release Me
Release Me (1946 song)
"Release Me" is a popular song written by Eddie Miller, Robert Yount, and James Pebworth , published in 1946.Miller wrote the song in 1946 but could not get anyone to record it for years, so he recorded it himself in 1953. Shortly afterward it was covered by Jimmy Heap, and with even better success...

", "Crazy Arms
Crazy Arms
"Crazy Arms" is an American country song recorded by Ray Price. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a hit that year and a honky-tonk standard. It was Price's first number one hit. The song was written by Ralph Mooney and Charles Seals...

", "Heartaches by the Number
Heartaches by the Number
"Heartaches by the Number" is a popular and country song written by Harlan Howard and published in 1959.The biggest hit version was recorded by Guy Mitchell on August 24, 1959. It reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the weeks of December 14 and December 21, 1959. The recording was...

", "City Lights
City Lights (Bill Anderson song)
"City Lights" is an American country music song written by Bill Anderson. It twice became a No. 1 hit — in 1958 and again in 1975.Ray Price recorded the original version in 1958, with his version becoming a long-running No. 1 hit. Mickey Gilley recorded a cover version in 1974, and his version also...

", "My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You", "For the Good Times
For the Good Times (song)
"For the Good Times" is a 1970 song penned by Kris Kristofferson that appeared on his debut album Kristofferson.Later that year, Ray Price recorded a version of the song which topped the U.S. country music charts and was awarded "Song of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music...

", "Night Life
Nightlife (disambiguation)
Nightlife is a human social activity.Nightlife or Night Life or Nite Life may also refer to:In games:* Nightlife , a splatterpunk game* Night Life , the first adult game released in Japan...

", "I Won't Mention It Again
I Won't Mention It Again
"I Won't Mention It Again" is a 1971 single by Ray Price. "I Won't Mention it Again" would be Ray Price's sixth number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for three weeks and spent a total of seventeen weeks on the country chart....

", "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me
You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me
"You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — also known simply as "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — is a song written by Jim Weatherly, and enjoyed two runs of popularity, each by an artist in a different genre.-Ray Price country version:...

", and "Danny Boy
Danny Boy
-Background:The words to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit the "Londonderry Air" in 1913, after his sister-in-law in the U.S. sent him a copy. Ernestine...

". He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996 and—now in his 80s—continues to record and tour.

1940s–50s success

Price, born in Perryville, Texas
Wood County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,752 people, 14,583 households, and 10,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile . There were 17,939 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

, served with the U.S. Marines from 1944–1946, and began singing for KRBC
KYYW
KYYW is a News/Talk radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area. The station is under ownership of Townsquare Media.KYYW changed formats from Classic County to News/Talk on Monday, March 1, 2010...

 in Abilene, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...

 during 1948. He joined the Big D Jamboree
Big D Jamboree
Big D Jamboree was an American radio program broadcast by KRLD-AM in Dallas, Texas. The show consisted of appearances by famous country musicians as well as sketch comedy and jokes. It was also carried by KRLD-TV during the 1950s.-History:...

in Dallas in 1949. He relocated to Nashville in the early 1950s, rooming for a brief time with Hank Williams. When Williams died, Price managed his band, the Drifting Cowboys
Drifting Cowboys
The Drifting Cowboys were the backing group for American music legend Hank Williams. The band went through several lineups during Williams's career, and surviving members of the group continue to tour and make public appearances to this day....

, and had minor success. He was the first artist to have a success with the song "Release Me" (1954), a top five popular music hit for Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...

 in 1967.

In 1953, Price formed his band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Among its members during the late 1950s and early 1960s were Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...

, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

, Darrell McCall
Darrell McCall
Darrell McCall is a country music performer, known for his honky tonk and traditional country musical style at the height of his career in the 1960s, and his return to popularity during the Outlaw country era in the late 1970s....

, Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...

 and Johnny Bush
Johnny Bush
Johnny Bush, born February 17, 1935 as John Bush Shinn III in Houston, Texas, is a country music singer, songwriter, and drummer. Bush, nicknamed the "Country Caruso," is best-known for his distinctive voice and as the writer of "Whiskey River," a top-ten hit for himself and Willie Nelson's...

. Miller wrote one of Ray Price's classics in 1958, "Invitation to the Blues", and sang harmony on the recording. Additionally, Nelson composed the Ray Price song "Night Life".

Price became one of the stalwarts of 1950s honky tonk music, with hit songs such as "Talk To Your Heart" (1952) and "Release Me". He later developed the famous "Ray Price Shuffle," a 4/4 arrangement of honky tonk music with a walking bassline, which can be heard on "Crazy Arms" (1956) and many of his other recordings from the late 1950s.

1960–2000s: Nashville sound to gospel

During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the so-called Nashville sound
Nashville sound
The Nashville sound originated during the late 1950s as a sub-genre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of honky tonk music which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s...

, singing slow ballads and utilizing lush arrangements of strings and backing singers. Examples include his 1967 rendition of "Danny Boy", and "For the Good Times" in 1970 which was Price's first country music chart No. 1 hit since "The Same Old Me" in 1959. Written by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

, the song also scored No. 11 on the popular music chart and featured a mellower Price backed by sophisticated musical sounds, quite in contrast to the honky tonk sounds Price had pioneered two decades before. Price had three more No. 1 country music successes during the 1970s: "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me." His final top ten hit was "Diamonds In The Stars" in early 1982. Price continued to have songs on the country music chart through 1989. Today he is singing gospel music and has recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...

", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, and only received full credit for it in the 1880s. The tune to...

",
"Farther Along
Farther Along (song)
"Farther Along" is a Southern Gospel song published by the Stamps-Baxter Music Company.-History:The lyrics to the song were written in 1911 by Rev. W. A. Fletcher, an itinerant preacher, while he was travelling to the Indian Territories by train...

" and "Rock of Ages" http://hometown.aol.com/diamondgospel/Rock-Of-Ages-Rock-Of-Ages.html.

In 2006, Price was living near Mount Pleasant, Texas
Mount Pleasant, Texas
Mount Pleasant is the county seat and largest city of Titus County in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2000 census, Mount Pleasant's population was 13,935. It is the county seat of Titus County, and is situated in Northeast Texas. This town, by city ordinance, is dry to sell alcoholic beverages....

 and still performing in concerts throughout the country. In 2009, Price made two performances for the Fox News show Huckabee. The first was with the Cherokee Cowboys and host Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...

, and he performed "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By The Number". Weeks later he performed with the Cherokee Cowboys and Willie Nelson (again with Huckabee playing bass guitar). This time they performed duets of "Faded Love
Faded Love
"Faded Love" is a Western swing song written by Bob Wills, his father John Wills, and his brother, Billy Jack Wills. The tune is considered to be an exemplar of the Western swing fiddle component of American fiddle.The melody came from an old fiddle tune Bob learned from his father, John Wills....

" and "Crazy".

Price worked on his latest album, Last of the Breed
Last of the Breed (album)
Last of the Breed is a two-disc album by American country music artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price. This album was released on March 20, 2007 on the Lost Highway Records label. It debuted at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week...

, with fellow country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singers Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

. This album was released on March 20, 2007 by the company Lost Highway Records. The two-disc set features 20 country classics as well as a pair of new compositions. The trio toured the U.S. from March 9 until March 25 starting in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 and finishing in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. This was Price's third album with Nelson and first album with Haggard.

College tradition

"For The Good Times" is the official song of Company A-1 of the Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

 Corps of Cadets. In the early 1980s, representing their time in the corps, the seniors of A-1 sang the song before their last football game. Company A-1 seniors now sing it before every Texas A&M football game and at important outfit functions, and "For The Good Times" has since become the company motto as well.

Industry Awards

Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

  • 1970 Album of the Year
    Academy of Country Music
    The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

     - "For The Good Times"
  • 1970 Single of the Year
    Academy of Country Music
    The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

     - "For The Good Times"


Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...

  • 1971 Album of the Year
    Country Music Association Awards
    The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

     - "I Won't Mention It Again"


Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum identifies and preserves the evolving history and traditions of country music and educates its audiences...

  • Inducted in 1996
    Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
    This is a list of inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.Number of Inductees : 115 . Of these 15 are women and two are groups that include...



Grammy Awards
  • 1971 Best Male Country Vocal Performance
    Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance
    The Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance was awarded between 1965 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male...

     - "For The Good Times"
  • 2008 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
    Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
    The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...

     with Willie Nelson
    Willie Nelson
    Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

    - "Lost Highway"

See also

  • Country Music Association
    Country Music Association
    The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...

  • Academy of Country Music
    Academy of Country Music
    The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

  • Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
    Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
    This is a list of inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.Number of Inductees : 115 . Of these 15 are women and two are groups that include...

     (1996 Inductee)

External links

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