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.
I've Got to Hurry Hurry Hurry
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She don't let no one have her lovin' but me
I gotta hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry
I gotta hurry on over and get some lovin' tonight
She's got the sweetest kisses and turned up nose
I gotta hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry
I gotta hurry on over cause I need her lovin' just right
I wake up every morning when the sun begins to shine
All I think about is that baby of mine
I gotta hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry
I gotta hurry on over and get me another kiss
I done got tired of always a-datin'
I gotta hurry up cause the parson's a-waitin'
I gotta hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry
I gotta hurry on over with all my might
Cause tonight she'll be my darling wife
The song "I've Got to Hurry Hurry Hurry" by Ray Price is a passionate love song about a man's urgency to be with the woman he loves. The lyrics describe the man's beloved as the cutest girl he's ever seen who only has eyes for him. He is in a rush to see her and get some lovin' tonight because the girl has the sweetest kisses and a turned-up nose that he just can't resist. He wakes up every morning thinking about her and feels that he needs to hurry on over to get another kiss. The man has been dating around and has found that he is tired of it all. So he's in a hurry to make the one he loves, his wife.
The repetition of "hurry" in every line of the chorus emphasizes the urgency the man feels to be with his love. The lyrics portray the man's passion for his girlfriend and his desire to be with her exclusively.
The song invokes a sense of urgency and joyousness that gets listeners moving and grooving on the dance floor. It has an upbeat tempo with a honky-tonk style that makes it a classic country dance song that never goes out of style.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I got the cutest baby that you ever did see
I am in a relationship with the most adorable person ever.
She don't let no one have her lovin' but me
My partner is faithful and only shares their love with me.
I gotta hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry
I am in such a rush.
I gotta hurry on over and get some lovin' tonight
I need to hurry up and be with my partner to express my love for them.
She's got the sweetest kisses and turned up nose
My partner has attractive physical features.
Lord you oughta see the way she wears her clothes
My partner has great fashion sense and looks stunning in their outfits.
I gotta hurry on over cause I need her lovin' just right
I want to be with my partner tonight and express my feelings just the way I want to.
I wake up every morning when the sun begins to shine
My partner is always on my mind, and the first thing I think about in the morning.
All I think about is that baby of mine
My partner is everything to me, and I can't stop thinking about them.
I gotta hurry on over and get me another kiss
I need to be with my partner soon and share some affection.
I done got tired of always a-datin'
I am tired of dating other people and want to be with my partner.
I gotta hurry up cause the parson's a-waitin'
I need to get married soon as the preacher is waiting for us.
Cause tonight she'll be my darling wife
Tonight is the night that I am going to marry the love of my life.
Contributed by Mason D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
lytleville
Perfect 1950's radio sound from my boyhood! Thanks for post.
raul villalobos
Can't be Psychobilly until you know your roots
Kelton King
Damn i wish i was born in the 50's
ruff hardin
I'd bet money that the band behind him is actually the Drifting Cowboys.
Nathan Leland
Good ear, it is indeed Don Helms. Chet also play this session alongside Sammy Pruett on guitar.
justin chambers
yeah it sounds like don helms on the steel
Goviner Williams
ware is hurr back hurr back in to my aremes