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.
Invitation to the Blues
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't know how I'll stand this anymore
Lonely are the times since I lost you
Received your invitation to the blues
I don't know why you caused me such pain
I just hope I'll never go through this much again
Thanks for sending something I can't use
You took the laughter from this world of mine
And thanks to you the sun will never shine
Walk the floor so much wore out my shoes
Received your invitation to the blues
I don't know why you caused me such pain
I just hope I'll never go through this much again
Lonely me I don't know what to do
Received your invitation to the blues
The song is a classic country heartbreak ballad that tells the story of someone who has just received an invitation to the blues from an ex-lover. The singer is unable to sleep and walks the floor throughout the night, lamenting the loneliness they feel since they lost their lover. The pain caused by the breakup is so intense that they hope they never have to go through it again. They express a sarcastic gratitude for receiving something that they cannot use, implying that the invitation is worthless to them. The chorus echoes the sentiments of the verses, with the singer describing the devastating effect the breakup has had on their once-happy life.
The lyrics paint a picture of someone who is deeply hurt and struggling to come to terms with the end of their relationship. Their world has been turned upside down, and they feel lost and alone. The invitation to the blues is a metaphor for the emotional pain they are experiencing, which is so intense that it has manifested physically, causing them to pace the floor and wear out their shoes.
Overall, Invitation to the Blues is a poignant and emotional song that captures the pain and heartbreak of lost love. While the lyrics are straightforward, Ray Price's soulful interpretation imbues the song with a depth of feeling that is hard to ignore.
Line by Line Meaning
I couldn't sleep last night, just walked the floor
I was unable to sleep and spent the night pacing the floor
Don't know how I'll stand this anymore
I am uncertain how much longer I can endure this suffering
Lonely are the times since I lost you
Ever since you left, I have been experiencing immense feelings of loneliness
Received your invitation to the blues
I received your message that invited me into a state of sadness and regret
I don't know why you caused me such pain
I am unsure of why you have inflicted this emotional pain upon me
I just hope I'll never go through this much again
I am praying that I never have to experience this level of heartache and grief again
Thanks for sending something I can't use
Your message has provided me with nothing but useless negativity and despair
You took the laughter from this world of mine
Your absence has robbed me of all joy and happiness
And thanks to you the sun will never shine
Because of you, my life will always be bleak and without light
Walk the floor so much wore out my shoes
My excessive pacing has caused my shoes to become completely worn out
Lonely me I don't know what to do
I am incredibly lonely and unsure of how to cope with this overwhelming sense of grief and despair
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roger Miller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@leslieadkins5774
Two giants of true country music...so glad that these works have been saved and presented.
@frankchilds9848
Well written and well performed, Nothing in current country matches this!
@Jinka1950
Yep. You’re right. It’s all T and A and sequins etc …. Awful. And lip synching.
@tommyreid2317
Amen to that.
@elvisearp57
Imagine what a thrill it was to have Ray record his song, then to sing harmony to Ray...
@walksthesehills
Ray's voice was like a musical instrument.
@ronwinkles2601
A very fine instrument!
@looselatigo
Two legends singing together.
@frankseabolt9519
looselatigo young Roger Miller
@davebob65
Thats what Im talking about!