On his new legacy album, Raye said, “I am going into my 27th year. We began this process at the 25 year mark, when I was coming up on my silver anniversary, and I wanted to commemorate that, and the fact that I lasted this long. It just so happened that I had 25 hit songs, so we re-cut all those songs again. It was a real undertaking, since it’s a lot of music to re-do. We really took our time, and it took us over a year to finish that project. I am really proud of it. It is going to be a legacy record for me.”
While it was extremely hard to select his favorite songs, he listed “Little Rock” and “Love Remains.” “It has never gotten boring to sing ‘Little Rock’,” he said, about “Little Rock,” which was written by Tom Douglas, and noted that it was one of the first songs to have a social element to it.
Throughout his illustrious career in country music, Raye has been nominated for “Male Vocalist of the Year” a total of 10 times (five times by the Country Music Association and another five times by the Academy of Country Music); moreover, he has had 24 Top 10 records, including 16 chart-topping country singles. “It was cool that I had that run, and that I was considered in the elite if you will, of the “Male Artist of the Year.’ Looking back on it, it truly was great to be nominated, since so many of my friends at the time were never nominated. I was very humbled to be included in that group 10 times,” he said.
Digital transformation of country music
On the impact of technology on the music business, Raye said, “It’s a different world. We are all trying to figure out what the new normal is, and I don’t think we have found it yet. Technology levels the playing field for so many artists. We are seeing very few gold and platinum albums on the wall lately. Now, unless you are a big superstar, you are not going to see a lot of platinum records anymore. Now, it is all about the downloads.”
On April 8, Raye sang “Amazing Grace” at the Route 91 Memorial Tribute in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Digital Journal reported.
While he did not have any “dream female duet partners” in particular, Raye is stoked to have been privileged to sing live with such acclaimed female country songstresses as Trisha Yearwood and the late Tammy Wynette, in several live situations.
For his loyal fans, Raye concluded, “The fans are the only reason that my music is still alive today and on radio. The fans refuse to let this music die.”
To learn more about country star Collin Raye and his new music, check out his official website, and Facebook page.
