"Ray Price was born and raised in Texas in the 1920s and ‘30s. A classic ""Greatest Generation"" man, Ray Price struggled through the tough times of the Great Depression, joined the Marines in order to fight in World War II, helped defeat the Axis, and then returned home to go to college. However, he didn't stay in school for very long. Instead he began to focus on playing music at honky-tonk bars and clubs, specifically a North Texas joint called Roy's House Café. The strength of his live performances was enough to get the attention of some record label talent scouts who were looking for in-demand country singers in the late 1940s and early 1950s.After releasing some singles with various smaller labels and moving up to bigger and bigger venues, Ray Price was hired at Columbia in 1951. Even though his album sales weren't exactly skyrocketing at first, working in the Columbia studios allowed Ray Price to meet Hank Williams, one of his country music heroes. Williams took Price under his wing, gave him some songs to record, tutored him on the finer points of surviving in the music industry and even let Price fill in for him when he missed shows. It was through his friendship with Hank Williams that Ray Price was able to land premier opportunities at the Grand Ole Opry. Then when Hank Williams died in 1953, Price took control over Williams' band, the Drifting Cowboys.After performing with the Drifting Cowboys for a time, Price looked to forge his own way with a new band of his creation, the Cherokee Cowboys. Over the course of almost three decades during the 1950s, '60s and ‘70s Ray Price landed dozens of country music singles hits, many of which are considered classic country standards today. Price will go down in American music history as an artist who challenged the trends of his genre and won many times over."