Ray Price 
 

Country Music Legend Ray Price Coming To Branson’s Welk Resort Theatre in ‘06
 

(BRANSON, MO) – One of the most significant artists in all of country music is coming to Branson next year. Welk-Sullivan Productions announced today that “The Cherokee Cowboy” Ray Price will perform at the Welk Resort Theatre in Branson at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5 and Thursday, April 6, 2006.

Since 1952, Ray Price has compiled one of the most distinguished lists of hit records of any country music artist. He has eight #1 and 46 Top-Ten singles to his credit including, “For The Good Times,” “Crazy Arms,” “Make The World Go Away,” “My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You,” “Danny Boy,” “Release Me,” and “Faded Love.” Price has won four Academy of Country Music Awards; two Grammy Awards; a Country Music Association Award and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

Tickets for the two Ray Price concerts in April 2006 go on sale Tuesday, November 1, 2005. Tickets may be purchased at the Welk Resort Theatre Box Office, by phone at (800)-734-5515 or (417)-337-7469, on the internet at www.sullivanshows.com or at select Branson area ticket outlets. Ticket prices including all taxes range from $37.50 (Gold Seating) to $32.50 (Silver) and $27.50 (Bronze).

Ray Price was a protégé and friend of Hank Williams. Together they co-wrote the hit song, “Weary Blues From Waitin’.” Price went on to change the sound of country music with his rhythmic brand of honky-tonk and is considered one of country music’s great innovators. Price experimented as a singer and arranger in the 4/4-bass driven “Crazy Arms,” country music’s 1956 song of the year. Even today the 4/4 country shuffle is known as the “Ray Price beat.”

“Crazy Arms” was one of the first country records to be recorded with a drum kit, which gave it a relentless, pulsating rhythm. Until Price, most country artists were reluctant to use drums and the instrument was even banned from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. The blockbuster status of the single helped to change that. After 20 weeks on the top of the country charts, “Crazy Arms” crossed over into the lower reaches of the pop charts and established Price as a star.

Ray’s band, “The Cherokee Cowboys,” was a training ground for legendary artists and musicians. Some of the artists who went on to become successful in country music reads like a list of Who’s Who in Country Music – including Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Johnny Paycheck, Darrell McCall, Johnny Bush, steel guitar masters Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day and guitarist Pete Wade.

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Price added a string section to his recordings, making him one of the first to explore the smooth, orchestrated sounds of country-pop. This led to another round of chart-topping hits including “You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me,” and the major crossover hit, “For The Good Times.”

The Welk Resort and Theatre are located 3 miles south of Highway 76 on State Highway 165. The destination resort complex opened in 1994 and includes a 160-room hotel, the Stage Door Restaurant & Lounge, a miniature golf course, swimming pool, game room and other amenities. The 2,245-seat theatre near Table Rock Lake has been home to The Lawrence Welk Show since 1994. A new alliance announced in October 2003 united the Welk Resort Group and SullivanShows in a venture designed to bring a vast array of new shows to Branson. Welk-Sullivan Productions has operated, managed and marketed the Welk Resort Theatre in Branson since January 1, 2004.