Ray Price and music’s sweet harmony

Posted at June 30, 2009 |

Tonight as the stars come out and the sun sets, I’m taking a moment to reflect on a man dear to my heart. Ray Price has been with me since I was a teenager. In the years that followed, Ray Price was with me through Vietnam, and what would turn out to be my entire Marine Corps career through 1993.

Ray Price was with me through good times and bad, the smiles of joy when my children were born, and days of sadness when I lost my parents.

“For without music life is a journey through a desert that has not ever heard the rumor of God. In music’s sweet harmony, I had all the proof I needed of a God that held the earth together between the staffs, where the heavens lay. Here, He marked all the lines and spaces with notes so perfect that they praised all of his creation with their beauty.” [1]

Ray inspired many artists, and I respect and remember them all. What makes Ray so special is he was the first country music artist I followed when I was old enough to listen to my own radio. I was ten years old.

Ray will also be there in the end, singing “For The Good Times” on my final day. God willing, that will be many years down the road. But for fifty years Ray Price has remained a constant in the ever-changing storms of life.

I was not yet a man when I discovered Ray Price. I do not regard myself as an old man now, but I can still see Ray on stage in Long Beach in 1968. The memory is as clear as a photograph.

Life is not complete without smiles, trials, cheers, and tears. I wish I knew then what I know now, but there are no do-overs and second chances. A few over-dubs and re-takes sure would be nice, but it is a moot point now.

When we look back on country music Ray Price will be at the top of my list of all time country greats. I’m sure he will be on your list too. He is a class act and a great ambassador.

Thank you for being there my friend.