It's an absolute shame to watch country music turn into the Stepford Wife hair metal travesty that it has become while a stone-cold legend like Ray Price clings to life after a lengthy fight against pancreatic cancer.
Do you think Keith Urban has the foggiest idea who Ray Price is and what he accomplished as one of country music's most dependable artists, scoring hits like "Heartaches By The Number', "Crazy Arms", and "Release Me" in a career that spanned seven decades.
That's right, SEVEN decades.
Back in the 70's, country music was about outlaws, hard-living, and love-gone-wrong, with Price's rich, soulful baritone becoming as familiar as an old friend. With contemporaries WIllie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash, Price enjoyed a resurgence in the 1970's that included six Top 10 country albums and four #1 country singles, "For The Good Times", "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me".
Of course, Price who was heavily criticized by old school country fans for bringing a pop sheen to his music during that period, but listening to those songs today only reveals how ahead of his time Price had been to bring such an accessible and timeless sound to his music.
In 1980, he released the album San Antonio Rose with Willie Nelson and reached #3 on the country charts. It would be the last time he'd reach the Top 10 until 2007's Last of The Breed, which he recorded with Nelson and Merle Haggard.
As we bid a tearful farewell to one of country music's last remaining pioneers, the genre seems to lose that much more touch with its roots and become something completely unrecognizable. In a country music scene led by the otherwise forgettable contributions of Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Garth Brooks, it's sad to realize that one of the last living giants of the genre has sung his final note.
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