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.
Intro Night Life
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You will find me hangin' 'round
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
Many people just like me
Dreamin' of old used-to-be
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
Well, listen to the blues they're playin'
Yeah, listen to what the blues are sayin'
Mine is just another scene
From the world of broken dreams
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
Yeah, when the evening sun goes down
You will find me hangin' 'round
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
Many people just like me
Dreamin' of old used-to-be
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
Oh, listen to the blues they're playin'
Yeah, listen to what the blues are sayin'
Well, mine is just another scene
From the world of broken dreams
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
The lyrics of Ray Price's "Night Life" describe a life of loneliness and desperation, which is reflected in the song's somber melody. The singer of the song recognizes that the night life is not a good life, but it is all he knows. He is not alone in this feeling, as "many people just like me" are "dreamin' of old used-to-be." The blues music playing in the background echoes this sentiment, conveying the sorrow and longing that the characters feel.
The song paints a vivid picture of a world of broken dreams, where people cling to the night life as a form of escape. The repetition of the line "the night life ain't no good life" emphasizes the hopelessness and sadness of this existence. The singer's acceptance of his fate, as well as his acknowledgement of the universality of his experience, make the song poignant and relatable.
Overall, the lyrics of "Night Life" are a powerful commentary on the human condition, and the emotional depth of the song has made it a classic in the country genre.
Line by Line Meaning
When the evening sun goes down
As the sun sets in the sky
You will find me hangin' 'round
I spend my time loitering in this area
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
The nightlife is not glamorous or fulfilling
But it's my life
However, it is the life I have chosen
Many people just like me
There are many others in the same situation as me
Dreamin' of old used-to-be
We all long for the past and what used to be
Well, listen to the blues they're playin'
Pay attention to the sad music being played
Yeah, listen to what the blues are sayin'
It tells the story of our broken dreams
Mine is just another scene
My life is just another example
From the world of broken dreams
Of the many unfulfilled dreams in this world
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
Once again, the nightlife is not fulfilling
But it's my life
But it's still my life
Yeah, when the evening sun goes down
As night falls once again
You will find me hangin' 'round
I'll still be loitering in this same spot
Oh, the night life ain't no good life
Again, the nightlife is not a good life
But it's my life
But I've accepted this as my life
Lyrics © GLAD MUSIC CO., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Paul Buskirk, Walt Breeland, Willie Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
eddie davidson
This introduction alone is worthy of the Country Music Hall of Fame. 🙏🏽
Jacque Henry
Just LOVE this album and Ray Price......takes me right down memory lane....love love love this...
Tickled Funny Bone
I like the Introduction & theme connected with night life version better than just night life.