On Dec. 16, 2014, country legend Ray Price passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 87 years old, and he left behind a huge catalog of recordings and a musical legacy that is among the most impressive in country music history.
Price was a contemporary (and friend) of Hank Williams, and his early recordings reflect that sharp-edged honky-tonk sound. As the 1950s progressed, though, Price found himself more and more attracted to smoother countrypolitan stylings. You can hear it working its way into songs like “City Lights” and especially on his album Night Life. And it finally comes to full fruition on Price’s 1960s songs such as “Danny Boy” and “For the Good Times” — the latter a Kris Kristofferson composition that Price turned into a signature song.
Price and his band the Cherokee Cowboys developed a dance-friendly rhythm that became known as the ‘Ray Price shuffle.’ The band was an early starting ground, too, for such later legends as Roger Miller, Willie Nelson and Johnny Paycheck.
Price also co-owned Pamper Music, a publishing company that helped boost the careers of Harlan Howard and Hank Cochran, among others.
Price was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. And he continued performing up until very recently, when his health wouldn’t allow it.
Because it spans so many years and includes so many great songs, Price’s catalog is well worth exploring in depth. Below are five key tracks to help you dive in.
1. Crazy Arms
This is the essential Ray Price starting point, one of the key tracks in the 1950s honky-tonk era.
2. Release Me
If you recognize this song — an Eddie Miller composition from 1946 — it’s probably for the warm and gooey version recorded by Engelbert Humperdinck. But Price’s version was cut more than a decade earlier, a period Price himself often referred to as “B.H. — before Humperdinck.”
3. City Lights
This one’s a vocal showpiece for Price, and shows him pushing past the honky tonk foundation to let his voice take the wheel. It’s not countrypolitan by any means, but you can certainly see the direction that Price is longing to go.
4. Night Life
This is the transition point, from Price’s 1950s honky-tonk shuffles to the crooner style that would dominate his music from the 1960s on out. “Night Life” is a Willie Nelson song, and Price does a superb job capturing the smoky, late-night gloom that permeate the lyrics and melody. The whole album, in fact, retains that easygoing vibe and is well worth seeking out.
5. For the Good Times
As was the case with Willie when Price cut his song “Night Life,” Kris Kristofferson wasn’t well known at all when Price turned this song of his into a No. 1 smash hit. Price had already cut plenty of crooner songs by this point, but this one stands out for the quality of the song and Price’s honest and moving delivery.
Featured image at top: Ray Price circa 1970.
