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.
Maiden's Prayer
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There beneath the stars an Indian maiden divine
The moon is on high and seems to see her there
In her eyes there's a light shining ever so bright
As she whispers a silent prayer
Every word reveals an empty broken heart
Broken by fate that's keepin' them so far apart
In her arms he belongs and her prayer is a song
Her undying song of love
Every word reveals an empty broken heart...
The lyrics to Ray Price's song "Maiden's Prayer" paint a picture of an Indian Maiden who is deeply in love with someone who is not there with her. As the evening falls and the twilight sets in, she finds herself underneath the stars, where she whispers a silent prayer to the moon above. She is filled with longing and longing to be with the person she loves, and in her eyes, there is a light that shines ever so bright.
The Indian Maiden's prayer reveals the depths of her broken heart, which has been scarred by the cruel hand of fate that has kept her so far apart from her beloved. She is lonely, and as she kneels, she pours her heart out to the stars above. She believes that in her loving arms, he belongs, and the prayer that escapes her lips is a song of undying love.
Line by Line Meaning
When the evening falls twilight shadows find
As dusk descends, shadows appear and engulf the surroundings
There beneath the stars an Indian maiden divine
An Indian woman of extraordinary beauty stands beneath the stars
The moon is on high and seems to see her there
The moon is at its highest and appears to be watching her
In her eyes there's a light shining ever so bright
There is a bright light in her eyes
As she whispers a silent prayer
She murmurs a silent prayer
Every word reveals an empty broken heart
Every word she utters portrays her broken and desolate heart
Broken by fate that's keepin' them so far apart
Her separation from her beloved is due to fate, which has plans different from hers
Lonely there she kneels and tells the stars above
She kneels alone and speaks to the stars above her
In her arms he belongs and her prayer is a song
She longs to hold him in her embrace, and her prayer sounds like a song
Her undying song of love
Her song portrays her never-ending love for him
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
fiftiessoundforever
Simply the best fiddle record ever--not to mention Ray's great voice!!
Lisa Strange
My grandfather was a great fiddle player. The last song he played for me was this. I was 3 yrs old and when Gordon Terry played it for me 17 yrs later I remembered it and cried. I hadn't heard it since my grandfather played it for me.
Sean Kelly
I used to be the closing DJ at WJPW Rockford. This was in the early 70s. Come time to close the station I played this song every night. After a bit, I attracted a small group of groupies that really like this song and they started showing up at the station. What a life.
Jewel Dotson
Loved that Ray Price sound from first hearing it back about 51 or so, Ray had several singing styles from early hard country through the Ray Price Shuffle,then the Smoth sound of later years, all were the greatest.no one matches that Ray Price sound.
Four - Q
I always loved "Crazy Arms".
this2shellpass
polish classical music 1850 Modlitwa dziewicy
Dorothy Lawson
Smooth as silk! I could listen to him sing all day, ever day!
howard gooding
the greatest fiddle /vocal country song ever, just love it
Maikel Peeters
Ray Price was the best in classic country... Every song gives me goosebumps... Man what a voice... The best country music ever! Dont like the new country music even i am 33 years old.. The oldies are the best
panchocgk
An absolute classic song by one of the greatest C&W singers of all time. I'm thankful I was lucky enough to see Ray Price play live multiple times. He was one of the greats.