Ray Price

The time is right for Ray Price (Sep 2002)

TTime was when country was country, and that was that. No arguments, no debate, no doubt. Steel guitars wept as beer joint junkies cried in their beer. Style was in. Hank Williams and Carl Smith and Webb Pierce and Ray Price sang like no other. Time marches on. The Drifting Cowboy drifted on, Webb's gone, and Mr. Tunesmith retired years ago. Yet, the Cherokee Cowboy thrives. Time was when Price, the king of the country shuffle, was as hard core country as anyone. Though he never ditched the sound entirely on the road, on record it's been mostly missing for nearly 40 years. Until now.  ...

Ray Price: The "Prisoner of Love" (May 2000)

Few people question Ray Price's right to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Many, however, question whether all 46 of his Top Ten hits should be considered country music. The 74-year old Texan, who returns this month with "Prisoner Of Love" on Justice/Buddha, underwent one of the most dramatic mid-career stylistic shifts of any successful singer in history. Not everyone was happy about that change, but it never hurt Price's overall popularity, and he continues to record the softer pop styles of his second career phase.  ...