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.
Talk to Your Heart
Ray Price Lyrics
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Have a talk to your heart about me
If your's told that it's right that we stay apart
Then let me come in and talk to your heart
Lovin' you changed my life in just one day
I'm waiting to hear what your heart will say
If your told that it's right that we stay apart
Believe you me there will be happiness when
You open your door and let me come in
If your told that it's right that we stay apart
Then let me come in and talk to your heart
So talk to your heart if it can't decide
Remember my own is waiting outside
Waiting alone outside in the dark
So let me come in and talk to your heart
In Ray Price's "Talk To Your Heart," the singer pleads with his estranged lover to listen to her heart and consider reconciling with him. He asks her to have a conversation with her heart about him and if it tells her that they should stay apart, then he wants to talk to her heart himself. He believes that opening up to him will lead to happiness and ultimately bring them back together.
The lyrics in this song embody the classic country theme of heartbreak and longing. The singer expresses how his life changed for the better when he fell in love with this person, but now that they are apart, he is left waiting for a verdict on whether they will reunite. He appeals to the practicality of the heart as an authoritative voice that can help them make the right decision, while also showing his vulnerability and willingness to compromise by offering to listen to her heart with her.
Line by Line Meaning
When your alone at night with the world locked outside
When you're alone with your thoughts and the outside distractions are gone
Have a talk to your heart about me
Take a moment to reflect on your true feelings about our relationship
If your's told that it's right that we stay apart
If your heart is convinced that we need to stay separated
Then let me come in and talk to your heart
Allow me to express my thoughts and feelings directly to you
Lovin' you changed my life in just one day
Meeting and falling in love with you altered the course of my life significantly and quickly
I'm waiting to hear what your heart will say
I am eagerly anticipating the decision that your heart will ultimately make
Believe you me there will be happiness when
I believe that we will find happiness if we can be together
You open your door and let me come in
You give me a chance to be near you and talk to you face to face
So talk to your heart if it can't decide
If you are unsure of what you want, take the time to reflect and listen to your heart
Remember my own is waiting outside
Keep in mind that I am patiently waiting for your decision outside
Waiting alone outside in the dark
I wait outside without any distractions, hoping to come to a resolution with you
So let me come in and talk to your heart
Allow me to communicate with you directly in order to find out where we stand with each other
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: C.M. BRADLEY, LOUISE ULRICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind