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.
Under Your Spell Again
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Saying those things again
I gotta take you back just one more time
I swore the last time that you let me down
That I wouldn't see you if you came around
But I can't tell my heart what is right or wrong
And I've been so lonely dear since you've been gone
You've got me, under your spell again
Saying those things again
You've got me dreaming those dreams again
Thinking those things again
I gotta take you back just one more time
You've got me, under your spell again
Saying those things again
You've got me dreaming those dreams again
Thinking those things again
I gotta take you back just one more time
The song "Under Your Spell Again" by Ray Price tells the story of an individual who has fallen under the spell of someone they love. Despite their best efforts, they cannot resist the charm of this person and find themselves drawn back in time and time again. The singer of the song makes a promise to themselves that they will not give in to this person again, but their heart has other plans. They are torn between what they know is right and what they feel deep down inside.
The song speaks to the struggle that many people face when they are in love with someone who may not be good for them. It captures the feeling of being helplessly drawn to another person and the difficulty of breaking free from that connection. The repetition of the lines "You've got me, under your spell again" and "Saying those things again" emphasizes the power that the other person holds over the singer and highlights the cyclical nature of the relationship.
Overall, "Under Your Spell Again" is a hauntingly beautiful song that captures the complexities of love and the difficulty of breaking free from its grasp.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got me, under your spell again
You have captivated me once again and I am helpless to resist your grasp
Saying those things again
You are using your seductive words to charm me into submission
I gotta take you back just one more time
Despite my better judgment, I am compelled to give in to your charms for one last time
I swore the last time that you let me down
I made a promise to myself that when you disappointed me the last time I would not allow you back into my life
That I wouldn't see you if you came around
I was firm in my resolve to keep you out of my life if you were to return
But I can't tell my heart what is right or wrong
Despite my logic and reasoning, my heart is drawn to you and I cannot control it
And I've been so lonely dear since you've been gone
I have been feeling utterly alone and empty since you have been absent from my life
You've got me dreaming those dreams again
Your presence in my life has sparked my romantic daydreams once again
Thinking those things again
I am reminiscing about the past and imagining a future with you once more
I gotta take you back just one more time
I am unable to resist your spell and must give in to you for one more time, despite the risks
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Buck Owens, Dusty Rhodes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind