Ray Price ~ Grazin' In Greener Pastures

Ray Price

When Ray Price was inducted into the Country Music hall of Fame in 1996, he said, "It's about time." For an entertainer who spent 35 years on the charts, generating 46 Top-10 hits, including the 4th biggest song (Crazy Arms) in country music all-time, his induction was unquestionably justified.

Price, who was born on January on 12, 1926 in Perryville, Texas, spent most of his youth in Dallas. It was there where he learned how to play guitar and sing. Following his high school graduation, he studied veterinary medicine at North Texas Agricultural College in Abilene before he left school for a stint with the Marines (1944--1946).

Ray began singing on KRBC in Abilene, Texas in 1948 and joined the Big D Jamboree in Dallas in 1949. Circa 1949, Price cut his first record for Bullet in Dallas. In 1951, signed with Columbia Records. His first Top 10 hit was" Talk to Your Heart." He moved to Nashville in 1951, rooming for a short time with Hank Williams. When Williams died in 1953, Price took over his band, the Drifting Cowboys. A couple of years later, Ray formed his first professional band, the Cherokee Cowboys. During the late 1950s and early 1960s members of his band included Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Darrell McCall, Johnny Paycheck and Johnny Bush.

Ray had a giant hit in 1956 with "Crazy Arms," a driving honky-tonk song that soon became a country classic. The blockbuster hit spent an astonishing 20 weeks at No. 1. "Crazy Arms" surpassed the success of Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel" and established Price as a major star. Price remained at or near the top of the charts for the next ten years, racking up 23 Top 10 singles between the 1956 and 1966. During this time, he recorded a remarkable number of classics, including "I've Got a New Heartache" (No.2, 1956), "My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You" (No.1, 1957), "Make the World Go Away" (No. 2, 1963), and "City Lights" (No.1, 1958).

Price became one of the originators of 1950s honky-tonk music and developed the famous Ray Price Shuffle, which can be heard on "Crazy Arms" and many of his recordings from the 1950s. During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the Nashville sound, singing slow ballads and utilizing lush arrangements of strings and backing singers.

Price, who was a dominate force in country music for more than twenty years, managed to surround himself with distinguished session musicians including: Grady Martin (guitar), Harold Bradley (rhythm guitar), Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day (steel), Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Floyd Cramer (piano), Buddy Harmon (drums).

Price continued to generate steady chart activity throughout the '70s with such singles as, "For the Good Times" (No. 1, 1970), "I Won't Mention It Again" (No. 1, 1971),"She's Got To Be A Saint" (No. 1, 1972)" and ""You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" (No. 1, 1973). In 1971, "I Won't Mention It Again" was named CMA Album of the Year. The Academy of Country Music named "For the Good Times" Album of the Year in 1970. His final top ten hit was "Diamonds in The Stars" (1982), but he continued to have minor chart activity through 1989.

Ray and Columbia Records parted ways in 1974 and though he recorded with various other labels his singles rarely reached the Top 10. In 1974, he signed with Myrrh, where he had two Top 10 hits over the next year. In the Mid - '70s, Moises "Blondie" Calderon became Ray Price's pianist and bandleader and he remained in that position for 34 years. By the end of 1975, Ray had left Myrrh and moved over to ABC/Dot, but his recordings failed to generate much chart activity. However, Ray continued to draw respectable concert crowds as he headlined venues across the country. In 1978, he switched labels again, signing with Monument, which proved to be another unsuccessful association.

In 1980, Price reunited with his old bassist Willie Nelson, recording the duet album "San Antonio Rose," which was a major success. The album spawned the No. 3 chart song "Faded Love." "San Antonio Rose" rejuvenated Ray's career, and in 1981 he had two Top 10 singles, "It Don't Hurt Me Half as Bad" and "Diamonds in the Stars" for his new label, Dimension. Price left Dimension in 1983, signing with Warner Records. He remained with the label for one year, and by that time, his new burst of popularity had cooled considerably as he was having trouble generating the Top 40 activity. Not much changed for the remainder of the decade, even though he recorded for two new labels: Viva (1983-1984) and Step One (1985-1989).

By the late '80s, Ray had stopped recording, but still tours whenever he likes. By any measure, Ray Price is a consummate entertainer with a captivating and mesmerizing stage presence. Price who resides near Mount Pleasant, Texas turned eighty four on January12, 2010.
RJB: Country Music Historian, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Country
• Music

[case139]

I wonder if anyone has the original 1970 version of "Grazin'...." by Ray Price...... anyone? It was the flip side to "For The Good Times", so if you have that, see if you can post it for us. Thanks!

[flashbell]

No, For the Good Times was the flip side of Grazin' In Greener Pasture. Columbia released Grazin' In Greener Pasture as a single, but DJs kept playing For the Good Times and killed Grazin' In Greener Pasture.

[ROYS5166]

Thanks for preserving some good old country tunes.

[flashbell]

This song is so awesome and Ray delivers it with true feeling. What a singer!

[PaulinaRena]

Ray's terrific voice makes this song really special. He can sing anything and it sounds even better as the years go by.  He has always been one of the greatest singers ever born. I have met him at Renfro Valley Entertainment Center here in Kentucky where he is one of the favorites whom we are privileged to see each year. Thanks so much for posting this. - Paula

[Bassman4eva]

you just cant go wrong with ray.still has that silky smooth voice

[bokesnmokes]

I really loved this song when I was a kid... I seem to remember it being a little more peppy and uptempo, but I like this version, as well...

[NancyTheMusicLover1a]

nice beat nice melody nice chord progressions & nice Lyric- never knew

i'd like Country Music! Thanks for sharing.

[21536987]

Tthat is the one I remember F S OF FTGT mine dissapeared years ago

[KUZINKEITH]

Another great one -- thanks. This was written by the wonderful Ray Pennington. Do you have any of his stuff perhaps...?

KEITH

[zaaritha]

So great!