One of country music's greatest singers, Ray Price[1] - whose hit "Crazy Arms" had a lasting influence on the sound of the genre - has died of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 87.
Two family friends acting as representatives for Price's wife, Janie, confirmed his death.
Price was one of the last of the stars from country music's midcentury golden era. He was a honky-tonk legend before steering his music toward elegant string-laden pop, a move that made him more popular than ever, but also drew criticism that dogged him for the rest of his career.
"Ray Price is one of the quintessential honky-tonk singers who also led country from that '50s sound into what would become countrypolitan in the 1970s," said Dwight Yoakam[2] . "Musicians are not limited to categories. Record labels have a need to do that for commercial purposes, so they can market what we do. Ray was an illustration of that. He was one of the great vocalists, without category."
The Texas native was an iconoclast, a singer with a powerful high voice when he was young that gave way to a rich, oaky baritone as he grew older.
Helped Nelson, others
His band, the Cherokee Cowboys, was like a farm system for future country music greats: Willie Nelson[3] , Roger Miller[4] , Johnny Paycheck and Johnny Bush[5] were among the young, aspiring musicians who learned their craft as members of his group.
He was a Country Music Hall of Famer and a tireless touring act who never wavered from his role as ambassador for country for more than half a century.
As polished as Price's music could be, he could be prickly and opinionated, shooting back at younger musicians when they spoke disparagingly about country music's greats.
Price was born in Perryville and raised in Dallas. His father was a farmer, his mother a clothing designer. They divorced when Price was 3.
When Price was older, he spent a few years studying to be a veterinarian until 1948 when a friend urged him to record a demo. It landed him a record deal.
Price later was befriended by Hank Williams[6] , who was his roommate and drinking buddy. When Williams was too drunk to perform, Price would take his place on the stage. Price told the Houston Chronicle[7] they were to have lunch on New Year's Day in 1953, when news broke of Williams' death.
Price inherited Williams' band and set out to distinguish his music from his friend's. He had early hits with "Move on in and Stay," "I'll Be There" and "Release Me."
A different beat
Price felt the need to steer from honky-tonk. In 1956 he decided to meddle with its beat. "Crazy Arms" wasn't his biggest hit, but it was his most important one. He wailed the unrequited love song put to the then-unheard-of 4/4 time signature - a rhythm-heavy shuffle.
He said he was "tired of playing dances where nobody danced," and urged his drummer to try a different beat. Country music had a new sound, credited to him. People still call it "the Ray Price beat."
"A lot of people have used it," he said. "Maybe it's a contribution. I hope so. We didn't mean it like that. We just wanted to do something different."
Price was hugely successful in the 1950s, but by the mid-'60s the hits didn't come quite as fast.
He shuffled things up again, covering the standard "Danny Boy" in 1968. The song sounded nothing like what was heard in country dance halls. It was lush and had sweeping strings.
"I just always liked the sound of strings," he said. "They add elegance."
It was a pop hit, rising to No. 60 on the charts. But Price said Nashville disc jockeys wouldn't play it, effectively ending his viability in the town. His marriage at the time had collapsed, so he moved back to Texas.
He scored another huge hit in 1970 with Kris Kristofferson[8] 's "For the Good Times[9] ," which also crossed over onto the pop charts. But Price's delicate and sophisticated music seemed polished compared to the outlaw country that would rise in the 1970s. One of his protégés, Willie Nelson, would provide the sound for the next big thing.
'A real gentleman'
Unlike the casual and raggedy musicians he mentored, Price was always well dressed and well-coiffed. He didn't enjoy the same crossover that Nelson did with rock and pop listeners. He nevertheless made some great music, even after the hits stopped coming. His "San Antonio Rose," made with Nelson in 1980, found the two updating old favorites including "Release Me."
Lyle Lovett[10] , who worked with Price on a version of Lovett's song "San Antonio Girl," called him "a real gentleman." Lovett's most recent album was titled "Release Me," a reference to the Price hit.
"Because his voice sounded so full and smooth and round, I remember thinking of him as a real grown-up singer," said Lovett. "The version of 'Release Me' I always hear in my head is his."
In the 2000s Price turned further toward a torchy variation on roots music, with the standards album "Prisoner of Love" and a swinging country record, "Time," in 2002.
In 2008 he, Nelson and Merle Haggard[11] won a Grammy for their "Last of the Breed" record.
"I'm satisfied with what I've done," he told the Chronicle that year. "I'm not satisfied with what has happened in my career, some of the real roadblocks I had to overcome.
"And there's lot of things I regret, but there's not a lot I can do about it now. I just hope everybody forgives me for whatever I did wrong. And hope they remember some of what I did right."
The Associated Press[12] contributed to this report.
References
- ^ Ray Price (www.chron.com)
- ^ Dwight Yoakam (www.chron.com)
- ^ Willie Nelson (www.chron.com)
- ^ Roger Miller (www.chron.com)
- ^ Johnny Bush (www.chron.com)
- ^ Hank Williams (www.chron.com)
- ^ Houston Chronicle (www.chron.com)
- ^ Kris Kristofferson (www.chron.com)
- ^ Good Times (www.chron.com)
- ^ Lyle Lovett (www.chron.com)
- ^ Merle Haggard (www.chron.com)
- ^ The Associated Press (www.chron.com)
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