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.
Walk Me to the Door
Ray Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kiss me just once more the way you did when you were mine
The longest walk I'll ever take will be across the floor
That's why I'm asking one last favor walk me to the door
I love another won't you let me be these are the words that you said to me
How can I go through life without you like it was before
When I can even make it to the door
Walk me to the door...
I promise I won't try to make commands I know I don't deserve you back again
My trembling lips are begging now they never did before
Just one more favor walk me to the door
Walk me to the door...
The lyrics to Ray Price's "Walk Me to the Door" tell a story of a man who is about to lose the love of his life. He asks her to walk him to the door one last time and hold him close. He wants her to kiss him the way she used to when they were still together. He knows that this will be the longest walk he'll ever take, but he just wants to be close to her for one more moment.
The man tells her that he loves someone else but begs her to let him go. He says he can't go through life without her, but he knows he can even make it to the door without her help. He promises not to make commands or try to deserve her back again. He just wants her to walk him to the door one last time.
The emotions in this song are raw and heartfelt. The man is admitting that he made a mistake, but it's too late to fix it. He just wants to hold onto the person he loves for as long as he can before he has to say goodbye.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk me to the door and hold me close just one more time
I'm asking you to accompany me, to be with me for one last time, before I leave forever.
Kiss me just once more the way you did when you were mine
Please give me a final goodbye kiss, that will remind me of the times when we were together.
The longest walk I'll ever take will be across the floor
Though I've walked many miles in my life, this particular walk, across this room, knowing I'm leaving you for good, will be the hardest and longest of all.
That's why I'm asking one last favor walk me to the door
I'm asking you for this last favor - to take me to the door so I can leave, and you can watch me go.
I love another won't you let me be these are the words that you said to me
Remember when you told me that you love someone else and that I should move on? I'm here now, asking you to let me go and allow me to start anew.
How can I go through life without you like it was before
I can't imagine life without you anymore, even though I know I have to eventually come to terms with it.
When I can even make it to the door
I'm so weak and broken-hearted that I'm barely able to make it to the door; hence, my request that you walk me there.
I promise I won't try to make commands I know I don't deserve you back again
I swear I won't ask for your love back, as I know I don't deserve it. This is just a small request, a last goodbye.
My trembling lips are begging now they never did before
I'm emotional, and my trembling lips are asking you for something that I haven't asked for before - a last symbolic gesture of goodbye.
Just one more favor walk me to the door
This is all I'm asking for, one final favor - that you walk me to the door, so I can leave and start to heal.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CONWAY TWITTY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Scot Olson
Ray was such a major talent. I find myself listening to him often as I have for years. He is sorely missed by all but he lives on with his recordings. He was one of kind and I'm so happy that we had him our lifetime. God Bless you Ray
Greg Hoskin
Years ago i knew this old man who would play this song at open mic night at a local bar. Al killed it. Every time he was up I'd request he'd play it. Years later i lived it. Burning memories indeed. Thank you, Ray, and thank you Al.
Trails End Farm
Can't tell you how many MILES I have danced to his songs. The girls I met and the good times I had,, Thank you Ray. You made by life FUN.
Leon Childs jr
Written by Conway Twitty