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.
It Should Be Easier Now
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Perhaps now my heart will stop hanging on it should be easier now
The lesson I've learned from you gold can't buy
A heart can be broken and still survive
Thanks to you now a much wiser man am I and it should be easier now
The worst now is over I've stood the test it should be easier now
They say everything happens for the best it should be easier now
Hollowed and washed with the tears I've cried
But now there'll be more room for love inside so it should be easier now
The song "It Should Be Easier Now" by Ray Price And The Cherokee Cowboys is a reflective piece about the end of a relationship. The lyrics express the relief that the singer feels now that they have finally accepted that their partner is gone. They hope that with time, their heart will stop hanging on and that they will be able to move on. The experience has taught the singer a valuable lesson. They learned that money can't buy happiness and that although their heart was broken, it can still survive. They are now a much wiser person because of the experience and feel that it will be easier to move forward from here.
The next verse acknowledges that the worst is now over and that the singer has stood the test. They believe that everything happens for the best and that with time, the wounds will heal. The loss has left a deep scar in their heart, but they have shed many tears and have started to create more room for new love. They are hopeful that they will be able to love again and that it will be easier now that they have grown from this experience.
Overall, the song is about finding closure after the end of a relationship. The singer has learned valuable lessons and is ready to move forward with a new appreciation for life and love.
Line by Line Meaning
Now that I've made up my mind you're gone it should be easier now
Since I've decided that you're gone, it's expected that it'll be less difficult now.
Perhaps now my heart will stop hanging on it should be easier now
It's possible that my heart will stop being attached to you and it'll be simpler now.
The lesson I've learned from you gold can't buy
You taught me a valuable lesson that can't be purchased with wealth.
A heart can be broken and still survive
Despite a heart being broken, it can continue to function and exist.
Thanks to you now a much wiser man am I and it should be easier now
Because of you, I am now a much more knowledgeable person and I should find it simpler now.
The worst now is over I've stood the test it should be easier now
The most challenging part is now done as I have passed the test, so it should be easier now.
They say everything happens for the best it should be easier now
People say that everything occurs for a reason, so it should be less difficult now.
The wounds in my heart you've carved deep and wide
You've caused me significant emotional pain and left deep and broad wounds in my heart.
Hollowed and washed with the tears I've cried
My heart has been emptied and cleansed by the tears that I've shed.
But now there'll be more room for love inside so it should be easier now
With more space in my heart for love, it should be easier now.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind