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.
Jingle Bells
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O'er the fields we go laughing all the way
Bells on bobtail ring making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight
(Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way)
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh
(Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way)
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh
Take the girls tonight and sing this sleighing song)
Just bet a bob tailed bay two forty as his speed
And hitch him to an open sleigh and crack you'll take the lead
(Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way...
The lyrics to Ray Price's rendition of Jingle Bells describe the excitement and joy of sleigh riding through the snow with friends and loved ones. It starts with an image of dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh, with laughter and merriment marking the journey. The sound of bells on the horse's bobtail add to the festive atmosphere and lift everyone's spirits. The chorus repeats the refrain of "jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way," emphasizing the rhythm of the sleigh ride and the ringing of the bells.
The second verse encourages listeners to make the most of the snowy weather while they are young and adventurous, and to take their girlfriends along for the ride. The final lines boast of a bet on a fast and spirited horse with a "bob tail," who pulls the open sleigh and races to the front of the pack. Overall, the lyrics of Jingle Bells celebrate the thrill of winter, the joy of companionship, and the simple pleasures that come from taking a ride in the snow.
Line by Line Meaning
Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh
We are excitedly riding through the snow in a sleigh pulled by a single horse.
O'er the fields we go laughing all the way
We are joyfully passing through the fields, laughing and enjoying the ride.
Bells on bobtail ring making spirits bright
The bells on the horse's tail are ringing and uplifting our mood.
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight
We are having a great time riding and singing a song about sleighing tonight.
(Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way)
The bells on the horse's tail are ringing continuously throughout the ride.
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh
We are having an absolute blast riding in this single horse open sleigh.
(Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way)
The sound of the bells on the horse's tail is still ringing loudly and joyfully.
(Now the ground is white go it while you're young
Since the ground is covered in white snow, we should take this opportunity to go on this ride while we're young.
Take the girls tonight and sing this sleighing song)
Let's invite the girls and all sing this sleighing song together tonight.
Just bet a bob tailed bay two forty as his speed
We made a wager on a fast horse with a bobbed tail to pull our sleigh at a speed of 240.
And hitch him to an open sleigh and crack you'll take the lead
We attached the fast horse to our open sleigh and once we crack the whip, we will take the lead.
(Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way...)
The sound of the bells on the horse's tail continue to ring throughout our ride, adding to the festive atmosphere.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHUCK HOWARD, EDDY ARNOLD, JAMES PIERPONT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind