Price, born in Perryville, Texas, served with the U.S. Marines from 1944–1946, and began singing for KRBC in Abilene, Texas during 1948. He joined the Big D Jamboree 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, 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 in 1967.
In 1953, Price formed his band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Among its members during the late 1950s and early 1960s were; Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Darrell McCall, Van Howard, Johnny Paycheck and Johnny Bush, Buddy Emmons, Pete Wade, Jan Kurtis, Shorty Lavender and Buddy Spicher. 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.
During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the so-called Nashville sound, 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, 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. Later, he sang gospel music and recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", "Farther Along" and "Rock of Ages."
In 2006, Price was living near Mount Pleasant, Texas 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, 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" and "Crazy."
Price worked on his latest album, Last of the Breed, with fellow country music singers Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. 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 and finishing in Illinois. This was Price's third album with Nelson and first album with Haggard. After the tour, Haggard remarked, "I told Willie when it was over, 'That old man gave us a goddamn singing lesson.' He really did. He just sang so good. He sat there with the mic against his chest. And me and Willie are all over the microphone trying to find it, and he found it."
On November 6, 2012, Ray Price confirmed that he was fighting pancreatic cancer. Price told the San Antonio Express-News that he had been receiving chemotherapy for the past six months. An alternative to the chemo would have been surgery that involved removing the pancreas along with portions of the stomach and liver, which would have meant a long recovery and stay in a nursing home. Said Price, "That's not very much an option for me. God knows I want to live as long as I can but I don't want to live like that." The 87-year-old Country Music Hall of Famer also told the newspaper, "The doctor said that every man will get cancer if he lives to be old enough. I don't know why I got it – I ain't old!" Price retained a positive outlook and hoped to play as many as a hundred concert dates in 2013.
As of early February 2013, the cancer appeared to be in remission. Sometime in May 2013, Price was hospitalized with severe dehydration. On December 2, 2013, Price entered a Tyler, Texas, hospital in the final stages of pancreatic cancer, according to his son, then left on December 12 for home hospice care. Price died at his home in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, on December 16, 2013.
Black And White Lies
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are in the letter I write tonight
I stopped being lonely when you left
And I'm now, at the top, among the best
I have money, throw big parties
And have a lots of friends, I never lose, I just win
I'm sending back the picture
Tell them both to forget me
And I don't wish to see them again
Black and white lies from left to right
Are in the letter I write tonight
What else is new except that you are married again
I hope you'll be happy with him
I'm sending you my best wishes
Consider me your best friend
Black and white lies from left to right
Are in the letter I write tonight
And I'm hoping, she'll believe what I write tonight
When she'll read this letter of lies in black and white
The lyrics to Ray Price's song "Black And White Lies" tell a story of a person who is attempting to paint a picture of success and happiness to their former partner. The use of "black and white lies" suggests that the person is not being entirely truthful and is fabricating a false reality in their letter. They claim to have moved on from their loneliness and achieved great success, boasting about their money, extravagant parties, and numerous friends. The mention of their "two lovely children" indicates that they were once a family, but now they are instructing their former partner to forget them and not to show the children the picture sent with the letter.
Towards the end of the song, the singer reveals that their former partner is now married again. Despite the lies they have filled the letter with, they express hope that their ex-partner will find happiness with their new spouse. The singer signs off by offering their best wishes and requesting to be considered as a best friend. They hope that the recipient will believe the false image they have created and that they will be forgiven for their deceptive words.
Overall, the lyrics of "Black And White Lies" depict a person trying to mask their true feelings and paint a glamorous and successful life through lies in order to cope with the end of a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Black and white lies from left to right
Deceptive statements, both obvious and subtle, fill the contents of this letter
Are in the letter I write tonight
The falsehoods are contained within this correspondence being composed presently
I stopped being lonely when you left
As soon as you departed, my loneliness subsided
And I'm now, at the top, among the best
Presently, I have achieved great success and stand among the most accomplished
I have money, throw big parties
I possess substantial wealth and regularly host extravagant gatherings
And have a lots of friends, I never lose, I just win
Additionally, I boast numerous companions and consistently come out victorious
I'm sending back the picture
I am returning the photograph
That you sent me of our two lovely children
Which you previously dispatched, depicting our adored offspring
Tell them both to forget me
Convey to each child the request to erase any memory of my existence
And I don't wish to see them again
Furthermore, I have no desire to reunite with them
What else is new except that you are married again
Is there anything else of significance, aside from your remarriage?
I hope you'll be happy with him
It is my wish that you find contentment in your relationship with your new spouse
I'm sending you my best wishes
I am dispatching sincere sentiments of goodwill to you
Consider me your best friend
Regard me as your most loyal confidant
And I'm hoping, she'll believe what I write tonight
Furthermore, I have confidence that she will place faith in the fabrications penned in this message
When she'll read this letter of lies in black and white
Upon perusing these untruths transcribed in ink on paper
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BUCK FOWLER, JIMMY FOWLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind