Country music pioneer Ray Price dies

Singer, who has died at 87, revolutionised the genre with a shuffle beat, and toured with Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. Ray Price, the country artist behind tracks such as Crazy Arms and City Lights, has died at the age of 87. The country music pioneer had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, but ended treatments last week when the disease spread to other organs. He died at his ranch outside Mount Pleasant, Texas, said family spokesperson Billy Mack Jr, according to the Washington Post.

Price, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996, had seven Billboard No 1 songs in his career and had hits on the country charts more than 100 times.

In a final statement released last week, Price said: “I love my fans and have devoted my life to reaching out to them. I appreciate their support all these years and I hope I haven’t let them down. I am at peace. I love Jesus. I’m going to be just fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you again one day.”

Price made his first record in 1949 and signed to Columbia Records in 1951. Known as one of the greatest voices of country music, he is celebrated for revolutionising the genre’s sound by adding a 4/4 beat, which came to be known as the Ray Price shuffle.

The singer, who gave Willie Nelson his first big break by recruiting him to play bass on a tour, told Rolling Stone in early December that he was looking forward to the release of a new album. “I just like what I’ve done and how it’s worked out, and it’s been great … I haven’t lost my voice, thank God for that.”

“I think it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever recorded,” he said of the album. “The whole CD is 12 fantastic, great songs. When it starts, everyone claims you can’t stop listening to it. Everyone goes back and starts it over. And that’s a good sign.”

Source: The Guardian