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.
Jesse Younger
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doin' all he could do to please his mommy and his dad
But he never planned to be the man they said that he'd become
Somehow or another now his little baby brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
Everyday the neighbors say that it's a dirty shame the way
We spat upon his family and scandalized their name
And his parents never really ever said he'd been his own
Is his father's and his mother's only son
Oh Jesse Younger you're a devil not a man
Can you dare to teach your parents so unkind
You have selfishly refused to live your life the way they planned
And you started goin' your own way and speaking your own mind
Jesse Younger's parents wonder where it all went wrong
Now that Jesse's name is turned to ashes on their tongues
But he chose to start and try to cover future of his own
And he got his rathers because now his younger brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
The lyrics to Ray Price's song "Jesse Younger" tell the story of a young man named Jesse who defies societal expectations and chooses to live life on his own terms. Although he was once a well-respected young man who tried to please his parents, Jesse ultimately decides to go his own way and speak his own mind. This decision causes his family's reputation to be torn apart and his parents to feel a sense of shame.
The lyrics suggest that Jesse's parents had other plans for their son and wanted him to live a certain way, but he chose to cover his own future and pursue his own path. This decision resulted in him becoming an outcast in his community, with his family's name turned to ashes on people's tongues. Despite this, it's clear that Jesse doesn't regret his choices, as he is able to find solace in knowing that his little brother is now his parents' only child.
The song speaks to the universal experience of choosing between societal expectations and personal fulfillment. It also touches on the idea that sometimes the choices we make have consequences that affect not only ourselves, but also those closest to us.
Line by Line Meaning
Little Jesse Younger was a well respected lad
Jesse Younger was a well-behaved and respected boy.
Doin' all he could do to please his mommy and his dad
He always tried to please his parents.
But he never planned to be the man they said that he'd become
He didn't want to become the kind of person his parents wanted him to be.
Somehow or another now his little baby brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
Jesse's brother is now the only child of their parents.
Everyday the neighbors say that it's a dirty shame the way
We spat upon his family and scandalized their name
The neighbors gossip about Jesse's actions and disgrace his family name.
And his parents never really ever said he'd been his own
Jesse's parents never acknowledged his independence or individuality.
Oh Jesse Younger you're a devil not a man
Can you dare to teach your parents so unkind
You have selfishly refused to live your life the way they planned
And you started goin' your own way and speaking your own mind
Jesse is criticized for his rebellion against his parents' wishes and for daring to be his own person.
Jesse Younger's parents wonder where it all went wrong
Now that Jesse's name is turned to ashes on their tongues
Jesse's parents are devastated by his actions and wonder what they did wrong.
But he chose to start and try to cover future of his own
And he got his rathers because now his younger brother
Is his father's and his mother's only son
Jesse decided to build his own future, and now his brother is the only child left for their parents.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KRISTOFFER KRISTOFFERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind