The Story Behind The Song…………………”For The Good Times” – Ray Price (#1 country, #11 pop, 1970) When Ray Price reached the top of Billboard’s country chart with “For The Good Times” in 1970, it ended a ten-year absence of #1 hits for a man who had experimented with several musical styles. Noted initially for the walking bass of his country shuffles, Price had later opted for a more urbane sound, enhanced by a bevy of strings. When that texture met with Kris Kristofferson’s “For The Good Times,” the result not only reached the summit on the country playlists, but also soared to #11 on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart (a rare occurrence for a Nashville-based production, only a handful of country releases in history have done it.) Kristofferson started the song in 1968 during a drive from Nashville to the Gulf Of Mexico, where he piloted helicopters for offshore oil rigs. He hated the trip, and on this particular drive, he developed the first verse and chorus of a song about the final encounter of a man and a woman who were breaking up. “After a while, the melody really got to me,” Kris remembered in an interview with the Nashville Tennessean given while Ray’s record was breaking through. “I couldn’t wait to get to a guitar. I was driving along thinking about that part where it says ‘hear the whisper of the raindrops blowin’ soft against the window….’ and I wondered what the chords were. I wondered if I could even play it. I wrote only the first part of the lyrics then. A while went by before I finished it. I can’t remember how long, but I do remember who I wrote it about.” Ray Pennington, who worked for Buckhorn Music, publisher of “For The Good Times,” thought it might do well for Price, who was touring at the time. For assistance in locating him, Pennington contacted Fred Foster at Monument Records, who prepared a demo on the song, got hold of a copy of Ray’s itinerary and found out that Price was appearing at the Stardust Club in Odessa, Texas, which was owned by an old friend of his. The Stardust had been one of Ray’s favorite places to perform since the beginning of his career back in the early 1950s, and he continued to frequently play there even after reaching stardom. When the demo on “For The Good Times” arrived, Ray listened to it between shows and immediately decided to record the song just as soon as he got back to Nashville. As was usually the case, he nailed it on the very first take with all the musicians present. Very little overdubbing was needed. Ray much preferred recording that way, as did most of the old-timers in the music industry. Initially, Price’s label (Columbia) released “For The Good Times” as the “B” side of “Grazin’ In Greener Pastures,” despite Ray’s contention that “For The Good Times” would be the hit. It wasn’t until pop singer Wayne Newton also recorded “For The Good Times” that the label changed its emphasis and began promoting Price’s version in earnest, which ended up selling an incredible 11 million copies. In March of 1971, Price won his only Grammy award for the tune. That same year, the Academy of Country Music cited “For The Good Times” as Song of the Year and Single Record Of The Year. Additionally, the “For The Good Times” LP earned Album of the Year honors. Despite the enormous success of “For The Good Times,” Billboard Magazine actually cites five other Ray Price singles as better chart performers: “Crazy Arms,” (which held the #1 position for an incredible 20 weeks in 1956, and ranks as the fourth biggest country hit of all time), “City Lights,” (#1 for 13 weeks in 1958), “My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You” (1957), “I Won’t Mention It Again” (1971) and “She’s Got To Be A Saint” (1972). Despite these statistics, “For The Good Times” will always be indelibly linked to Ray Price, and forever regarded as his quintessential masterpiece after his change of style in the mid-‘60s to a smoother, more pop sound, adapting to the changing musical tastes of the nation’s country music fans. By the time Price made his final appearance on Billboard’s Top Ten list with “Diamonds In The Stars” in 1982, (after making hit records for nearly 30 years), the pendulum had swung back to a more traditional country sound, and Ray had changed right back along with it. His versatility was amazing. He was able to give the public exactly what it wanted whatever the times called for, and that may be his most enduring legacy. I would like to extend my appreciation to Jim Doran, a friend and colleague at Meyer Communications for his contributions to this story. Beginning in 1991, Jim served as Ray Price’s manager & booking agent during the latter part of Ray’s career, and he continued in that capacity until various health issues caused Ray to cut back on his show dates along about 2001. Price did continue to perform occasionally as his deteriorating health permitted until almost the very end of his life. Ray’s last concert was given just a couple of months before he died of pancreatic cancer at age 87 on December 16, 2013. – JH youtu.be/sAMCHLh0JBw
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 02:59:00 +0000
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