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.
For The Good Times
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know it's over
But life goes on
And this old world
Will keep on turning
Let's just be glad
We had some time to spend together
That were burning
Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine
Hear the whisper of the rain drops
Blowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me
One more time
For the good times
I'll get along
You'll find another
And I'll be here
If you should find you ever need me
Don't say a word about tomorrow
Or forever
There'll be time enough for sadness
When you leave me
Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine
Hear the whisper of the rain drops
Blowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me
One more time
For the good times
Ray Price's song For The Good Times is about a relationship that has come to an end. The singer is telling their partner that even though it's over, they should take comfort in the fact that they had some good times together. The world will keep moving, and they will move on to find happiness elsewhere. The singer wants to be there for their partner, but they shouldn't talk about the future because they will cross that bridge when they come to it. The singer implores their partner to lay their head on their pillow and hold them close as they listen to the sound of raindrops outside. They should make believe that they love each other for one more time, for the good times.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't look so sad
You don't need to be sad.
I know it's over
I understand that the relationship is over.
But life goes on
Life moves forward.
And this old world
Our planet
Will keep on turning
Will continue to rotate around its axis and orbit the sun.
Let's just be glad
Let's appreciate and be thankful for the time we had together.
We had some time to spend together
We got to spend time together.
There's no need to watch the bridges
We don't need to monitor our past disagreements or estrangements.
That were burning
That caused us problems.
Lay your head upon my pillow
Rest your head on my pillow.
Hold your warm and tender body
Embrace your soft and comforting body.
Close to mine
Near me.
Hear the whisper of the rain drops
Listen to the rain drops lightly hitting the windowsill.
Blowing soft against the window
The rain is blowing lightly against the windowpane.
And make believe you love me
Pretend that you still love me for this fleeting moment.
One more time
Once again for old time's sake.
For the good times
One last happy thought for the amazing memories we shared.
I'll get along
I'll survive.
You'll find another
You will find another love.
And I'll be here
I'll be around if you need me.
If you should find you ever need me
If you ever need me, don't hesitate to reach out.
Don't say a word about tomorrow
Don't talk about the future.
Or forever
Or our future apart.
There'll be time enough for sadness
We will have time for sadness later.
When you leave me
When you decide to leave me, we can be sad then.
For the good times
But let's leave each other on a happy note and remember the good memories.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kristoffer Kristofferson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@donroe6438
I was just a kid when I heard my Dad call my Mom into the room to hear Ray sing this many years ago. I never forgot that and when he was in hospice 2 years ago I brought my laptop to him and we played so many songs. A once mountain of a man physically was so frail then in his 80s. When this song was played in our list he once again called Mom into the room and they held hands during the song, as though he was singing to her. We played it over and over. He passed a few days later and she followed 2 months later after 67 years of marriage. A special song from long ago.
@jamesmonroemaxey
Your words are very touching. Thank you so much for sharing this about your darling parents.
@MyungHunter61
Beautiful but sad too
@importpappa
This song reminds me of my parents too. They loved it.
@tailwheelflier
Don Roe teared up reading that.
@davidrose9370
Same here. I just remember this song and remember my dad playing it many many times
@larrygibb404
My dad passed away today and had me play this for my mom. 70 yrs of marriage and still madly in love. Ray was the class of all!
@Leavetheherd
Was my dads favorite song. 70 years together, still in love, can’t ask for more.
@user-rx3yc3zw7b
Sorry 😔 to hear that 😢
@user-rx3yc3zw7b
@@Leavetheherd3:25