Ray Price: Beauty Is...The Final Recordings

Nothing to Disclose

♥

As many of you know, there's no one on earth I'd rather listen to than Ray Price. I've written about him, his voice and his impact on my life before. When he passed in December, 2013, my heart was broken. I knew then the world would never know a voice like Ray's. A body of work like Ray's. A heart like Ray's.

I had ambivalent feelings about his final album. I wanted desperately to hear it, but I dreaded hearing the "final" recordings. Knowing there would never be more. Thankfully, I have almost everything he ever recorded. By almost I mean everything that isn't long lost and impossible.

I waited until Walmart had it - supposedly. Except mine never got it. So I ordered from Amazon the other day. The CD isn't here yet, but Amazon gives you free access to any music you buy through them on your iPhone (or 'droid or MP3 or however that stuff works).

As you may also know if you're a regular reader, my life is in upheaval right now and once again, Ray's there to help me through it. He's been a constant in my life since I can remember. Through laughter and tears, happiness and complete devastation.

I listened first for me. And then I listened to each song again thinking about Janie, his lovely wife. What a beautiful gift he gave not only to the fans, but to her. How she can listen without losing it, I do not know.

He's always had that special ability to choose (and/or write) songs that can touch so many people in so many situations right in that deepest part of their souls. It's always as if he's singing straight to the listener...like a great artist who can paint a portrait with eyes that follow you no matter where in the room you move. Drawing you in and embracing you with his rich, perfect voice.

My two favorite songs on the album are Senses and I Can See You.


Beauty Is...The Final Recordings

Senses (Track 7): 

One chance taken from the hands of time, love awakened, unplanned, undesigned. 
Propriety shaken, over the line. We won't tell, we'll hide it well. 

So unlikely, so un-you and me. If God's gonna strike me then strike me please. 
It's so exciting, you next to me, my new best friend, where have you been?

And when the song is over and we say goodbye, what will I do then? 

I close my eyes and you come to my senses again. 

Call it crazy, call it insane, call it sunshine in the middle of rain. 

Only a fool would try to explain you and me, happily. 

And when the song is over and we say goodbye, what will I do then? 

I close my eyes and you come to my senses again. 

I close my eyes and you come to my senses again.


I Can See You (Track 3): 

I can see your laughing eyes kinda lighting up the night around you. 

I can see the shadows dance around those loving moments that we shared. 

I can see a soft blush cross your face the way it did that first time. 

And I can fee you tremble as I take your hand and lead you up the stairs. 

I can see you you with my eyes closed. I can hold you, hold you in my mind. 

I can see you with my eyes closed. Who said that love is blind? 

I can see you standing in my dreams, reaching out to touch me, 

I can see the silver glow of moonlight halo in your hair.

I can hear the silken sound of night gown falling down around you and if God would only grant 
the right to turn back time, I'd turn and find you there. 

I can see you you with my eyes closed. I can hold you, hold you in my mind. 

I can see you with my eyes closed. 

Who said that love is blind. 

Who said that love is blind.


I'm so happy I got to see him countless times and meet him several times. So happy to have that voice preserved and at my fingertips anytime. So glad God blessed him with such a voice and with the ability to share it with us in such an honest and humble way. And for Janie for sharing Ray with us for all those years.

If you don't own this yet, you should. Even if you're not a "country music fan." This man's voice was bigger than any music genre "box" people ever tried to put him in.

♥

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

.

Ray Price: Farewell Ray - You Were Priceless and Now, So Are We

♥

Update January 16, 2013: Well the one word that comes to mind right now is "Priceless." Ray Price was priceless and now so is this world. He passed away at home this afternoon at 4:43 Central time and there will never be another Ray Price. I'm convinced there will never be another voice as perfect as his. 

Yes, I've been crying all evening. Over someone I didn't really know. And I'm not ashamed or apologetic. There are few people in this life who will ever touch a person as deeply as "that one" person everyone has in one form or another in their lives and he was "that one" for me. 

"Touch my heart, feel the hurt, the pain and misery..."

Touch My Heart

But I hope Ray knows that he didn't he did "not live his life in vain..."

In Vain

R.I.P. Ray. ♥

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 12, 2013

Original Post:

People You Think You Know

This post doesn't fall under Polish or Pets so I guess it's one of those Pointless Ponderings?

I've never been the "groupie" type - going all "fangirl" over a singer or celebrity of any kind. I mean not like the caliber of Beatles fans or Elvis fans. I wouldn't faint at the site of the Brad Pitts of the world and to be honest, I've never really understood what overtakes people. I don't judge them, I just don't really understand. You know the type I mean...

The closest I've ever come in my lifetime I guess is maybe Sean Connery or Ray Price. And I've never met Sean Connery. I've met Ray Price countless times - driven many miles to see him perform. Anything he ever did that's still available I own in one form or another. Closest I've ever come to being anyone's "groupie" I guess. Although I promise I've never tossed him my skivvies.

Do I know Ray Price? Of course not. But when he has been a constant in my life for over 35 years, sometimes it feels like I do.

I've been thinking a lot about Ray Price lately. He's been in the hospital for about a month now and this year has been really rough for him. He's now 87 and he can still hit the high notes and the lowest low notes. The man's vocal range is unsurpassed. And it sort of feels like my "best friend" is sick.

His voice has been with me through really happy times and the saddest times in my life. He has been the one constant. My mom wasn't in my life for that long. My husband wasn't in my life for that long. My brother wasn't in my life for that long. Now don't get me wrong here - I loved them more than I can say and having a voice on the radio or your stereo of someone you don't know doesn't compare, obviously. But just making a point that I've "known" him for longer than I've "known" anyone else in my life except for my best girlfriend since kindergarten. I've lost a lot of loved ones and his voice helped me through all of it. A constant. Never leaving.

If you missed my post about how music affects people - me in particular, check it out here. It's a very strong, emotional thing. And there's science to back that stuff up, too! It touches something so deep within us.

His voice soothed me through love and loss and death of family and pets and celebrated with me in love and happiness and excitement. His voice has made me laugh and cry and question and think...and FEEL. And while he had his own ups and downs in life for sure, the times I met him, he was the nicest, most genuine "good ol' boy from Texas" you'd ever want to meet. Just hearing stories from his wife Janie confirms everything I've ever thought he might be like if you were his friend.

The man has been through hellish times, I'm sure, but he's also been SO blessed. He has a wonderful wife, Janie, who never leaves his side. He was blessed by GOD with, in my opinion, the best voice in the history of this planet. And I'm pretty sure he has no idea how many peoples' lives have been impacted by that voice.

I mean really - listen to how perfect...

You expected that to be For the Good Times, didn't you? Well he's performed (perfectly, I might add) blues, pop, big band, gospel, Spanish love songs IN Spanish, in addition to the classic country most people remember. I wouldn't bet money that if he'd been born into an opera-loving family in Italy, he wouldn't have become a great opera singer as well. That is how great his voice is.

I've been crying off and on for weeks now it seems. Yes. Crying over someone I don't even KNOW. I know I've always been sort of an oddball, but is that really all that odd? Have you ever cried over someone like that? I mean it's not affecting whether I can function or anything that pathetic. But I hear The Voice and a tear will silently slide down my cheek.

And that's my question to you. Who in your life - someone you don't really know - do you feel like you know? Who is YOUR "Ray Price?"




If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

.

Music Stirs my Soul

Before the men in white coats show up to haul my happy keister to Bellevue, I just have to get this out there. Hearing someone with a beautiful voice singing makes me weep. It's always been that way and I do not understand it.  I'm not a crier, not really.  At least not at "normal" things. But let me hear someone singing and I absolutely cannot stop the tears. WHY?

Of course it's not just anyone who can make me weep - they have to be good.

Since I was a child, I've always been affected by music in one way or another. I remember saying my prayers before bedtime and the last thing, after the God bless mommy and daddy, etc., I would pray was "and please let me be able to sing. Amen."  Well, God answered.  Yep, you guessed it, He said NO. I've been truly heartbroken about it ever since, as if I had music inside me screaming to be let out. And yet...at 45, it's apparently still in there and NOT happy about it. I begged for a piano and piano lessons as a child, but somehow that never happened. Not that I would have been good at it, but I guess I'll never know now. I did try the clarinet in junior high band and I didn't suck, but neither was I Pete Fountain or Woody Herman. And while I certainly enjoy really good music (sans vocals) and it can evoke all sorts of feelings and moods in me, it doesn't make me weep. I particularly enjoy Big Band music, jazz, a lonesome Harry James solo, a sexy saxophone.  But again, mood elevating/happy/sad/melancholy feelings aside, I still don't weep.

I'm not good at determining how long ago something occurred, but if it's really important that I pinpoint it, I can usually do that through music.  I seem to relate everything back to a certain song that was popular, or the last time I heard a specific song. Or the first time I heard it.

I remember vividly the first time I ever heard Ray Price sing.  I remember where I was, what street we were driving down, what the back seat of that car smelled like (my brother ALWAYS got to ride in front.) Stupid things - every single detail. I was so struck by his voice, I couldn't even ask who it was until the song ended. And anyone who knows me knows Ray Price is the closest to becoming a "groupie" I ever came. I think I can tell you where I was the first time or the last time I heard ANY song I've ever heard before. WHY?

I've gotten to the point of making sure I am alone if I get sucked down the YouTube rabbit hole because I will always end up listening to a song that makes me cry.  Same with the singing contest TV shows. Or even the National Anthem before a game. If not, I'll be teased for sure.  Thing is, the tears aren't an indication of sadness or even envy that they can sing and I can't.  It's deeper. It's like a supernatural joy that's totally indescribable. It touches something in me so deep that I'm not sure what to even call it.  Heart?  No, deeper. Core? Maybe. Special place in my brain? Probably. It's what I think of when I hear someone describe a "religious" experience.

Ever hear LeAnn Rimes singing Amazing Grace a cappella? YouTube it. Or Perry Como singing Temptation? Or Tony Bennett singing For Once in My Life?  Last night, there was a little girl named Rachel Crow on The X Factor premier - first one up - who did it to me.  Then another woman singing Natural Woman. And I wept.  I'm using weep and wept because crying really doesn't cut it.  "Crying" is too close to the surface. "Weep" seems somehow deeper. I don't make any sounds - just the tears streaming down my face and the silent sobs. Oddly, it doesn't even matter what the lyrics are, it's the sound of the voice. Pavarotti does it to me and I don't speak Italian. Charlotte Church (as a child) singing anything a cappella does it to me and I can never understand a word she's singing, even if it's in English.

Seriously, am I nuts? Does music affect other people like this?

So I googled. Can't help it.  It's what I do.

And I came up with an interview with an author of a book called The Power of Music - Elena Mannes in which she asserts:


"...scientists have found that music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function."


Well, I believe it. And now I have another book to add to my ever-growing reading list.

And I really need to stay off of YouTube.

Is Bellevue still there?  Wonder if you can self-admit?

.

You're never too old to learn...

Okay, so I'm a pretty open-minded person.  I have my own views and if I've really put considerable thought into forming these views, I generally stick to them. But I try never to close my mind off.  I purposely read content with opposing political views.  I don't ever wanna be "that guy" who is so closed-minded there's no room to learn.

I'm this way in nearly every aspect of my life.  Except one. Politics?  Nope.  Religion?  Nope.

I am a closed-minded MUSIC SNOB! *hangs head in shame*

I don't know why it happened or when it happened.  But it happened.

"New music is crap."  Um, what?  Yep.  That's what I said.  Now how would I know this, considering I only listen to old country, big band, some jazz and "easy listening?"  Well that's the thing.  I wouldn't know.  Because I'm a music snob.  Of course Ray Price and Perry Como are the greatest singers ever born on this planet and I'm not likely to change that.  But to completely shut out not just individual singers and song writers, but also whole genres?  Wrong.

So what opened my eyes?  Well, it's the strangest thing. It happened on Twitter. And what unlikely person caused it?  Are you sitting down?  Rosanne Cash.

Craig Ferguson said to follow her and well you KNOW how I feel about @craigyferg. *swoon*  So I did.  And she is funny and witty and makes me laugh.  Hmmm...not what I expected.

So I fell down the youTube rabbit hole for a while, listening to a few of her songs from "The List." And you know how youTube works...while you're listening, you're browsing the other "related videos" along the sidebar.  So I listened to an interview she did in September 2010 called "The Hour: Rosanne Cash."

To tell you the truth, I've never liked Johnny Cash.  I've never appreciated his voice AT ALL.  I didn't even  see the recent (I watch '40s movies so "recent" is relative) movie about his life because, well, "I don't like him."  In the interview, they mentioned Johnny doing "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails - whoever the heck THEY are) so of course I youTubed it.

Wow.

Rosanne mentioned something in that interview that really struck me.  Like HARD, right upside the head. She talked about watching it for the first time with her dad and noticing that he viewed it with "an artist's eye." That started me thinking about why I can see a work of art on canvas and HATE it and still appreciate the talent it took to create it. Or why I can read something that doesn't interest me in the least and still be able to see the talent it took to write it.  WHY, then, can't I do that with music?

Watching that video of "Hurt" actually brought tears to my eyes.  And it also opened them. And you know what?  Johnny Cash was awesome.  Yes, I said it.  And you know what else?  So is Rosanne.  I've spent the better part of an hour just listening to HER songs and that woman has some SERIOUS talent.

So Rosanne, wherever you are, thanks for opening up a closed mind.  And you wondered why you were tired today? =)

Now I'm off to see what Nine Inch Nails are...