Susan Raye (born October 8, 1944)
is an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song "
L.A. International Airport", an international crossover pop hit in 1971.
Raye was a protegee of country music singer
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...
. Owens and Raye recorded a number of hit albums and singles together, and were one of the most successful country duet acts of the era, in addition to their solo careers.
Early life
Years before success
She was born in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
, United States.
Raye first began singing with a high-school rock group, but in 1961, after the band called it quits, she auditioned for a local country station, KWAY (previously KFGR/KRWC).
She performed on the station's live Saturday morning country and western show. Not only did she begin performing on the radio, but she also landed work as a
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
, eventually becoming the host of a Portland TV program called ''Hoedown''.
[ Susan Raye biography ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
At one of Raye's performances at an area nightclub, she met
Jack McFadden, Owens' manager. McFadden was so impressed with her vocal talents that he persuaded Owens to fly her to his home in
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
, for an audition.
Rise to success
She moved to Bakersfield and began singing with Owens in 1968, and soon after, she cut her first recordings. One of these songs, "
Put a Little Love in Your Heart
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed in 1969 by Jackie DeShannon, who composed it with her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday. In the U.S., it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 ...
," made the top 30 in 1970.
[Wolff, Kurt (2000). In ''Country Music: The Rough Guide''. Orla Duane, Editor. London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 19] At about the same time, she began a nine-year stint as a featured performer on the program ''
Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 199 ...
''.
Country music career
1970–1975: Breakthrough into the industry
Susan Raye's first sessions as Buck Owens's duet partner were released in 1970. The albums ''We're Gonna Get Together'' and ''The Great White Horse''
were top-20 hits that year, as were the title tracks to each album and a third single, "Togetherness". The song "The Great White Horse" peaked at number eight and was the most successful Owens-Raye duet.
Raye's biggest year as a solo artist came in 1971, when she issued three consecutive top-10 hits: "L.A. International Airport", "Pitty, Pitty, Patter", and "(I've Got A) Happy Heart". The title track of 1972's ''My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own'' also reached the top 10.
Although not her biggest country hit, "L.A. International Airport" became Raye's signature song, peaking at number 9 on the
''Billboard'' Country Chart, and a minor hit on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 54. The record was a major international pop hit in several countries, however, enjoying its greatest success in New Zealand, where it hit number one for two weeks, and in Australia where it hit number two and ranked as the number-five best-selling pop record of the year, outselling
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...
's country crossover international smash "
Rose Garden
A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...
" (in Australia only). "Airport" did well in the ''Record World'' "Non-Rock" chart, while strangely failing to appear in ''Billboard's'' comparable "Easy Listening" Top 40. In 2009, Raye donated one of the two gold records she earned for "L.A. International Airport" to the Flight Path Museum in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Raye became the first woman to become a major country artist without recording in Nashville, a feat previously accomplished only by male stars such as Owens and
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...
. Raye was nominated for five
Academy of Country Music Awards
The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...
, three times as "Top Female Vocalist". Raye married Owens' drummer Jerry Wiggins in 1972. They were married for over 40 years until his death in 2018.
Raye had an additional two top-20 country hits in 1972 from separate albums, "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love Sure Feels Good in My Heart". In 1973, Raye's next album, ''Cheating Game'', spawned two singles, one of which (the title track) reached number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Country Chart that year. The second single, "When You Get Back from Nashville", was not as successful and peaked outside country's top 40. That same year, Raye and Owens reunited for an album, ''The Good Old Days (Are Again)'', and together they had a top-40 hit from the album. In 1974, Raye's album ''Singing Susan Raye'' also released a top-20 hit, a remake of "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)".
Raye's 1975 release "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Dog Like That", became her seventh top-10 on the ''Billboard'' Country Chart and a duet single with Buck Owens, "
Love is Strange
"Love Is Strange" is a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label.
The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams and was written by Bo Diddley un ...
", placed in the top 20 that year. In 1976, however, Owens severed his ties with Capitol Records and closed down his Bakersfield unit for the label. Susan Raye released her final album on Capitol in 1976, ''Honey Toast and Sunshine'', her first recording session in Nashville.
1977–1984: Later career
Raye signed with
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
at the end of 1976 and released one album on the label produced by
George Richey, which spawned four charting singles, the most successful of which peaked at number 51. It was Raye's last studio album issued from a major record label. In the late 1970s, Raye dropped out of the music business, citing family and religion as her reasons.
Her version of the traditional hymn "
Precious Memories" was used in the opening and closing credits of the 1979 film ''
Hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
''.
Returning to the recording studio for the first time in eight years, Susan Raye released the album ''There and Back'' in 1985, which produced two more chart singles on ''Billboard''.
An additional album, ''Then and Now'', was released in 1986. The A-side of the album featured updated re-recordings of Raye's biggest hits. The songs on the B-side were gospel/contemporary Christian songs. This album is Raye's last recording to date.
In 2020,
Craft Recordings released two vinyl LPS of Raye's hits, one of them a duet collection with Owens. These collections were previously released on CD by other labels.
Other careers since music
Raye is a devout
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. She went to
California State University
The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
, Bakersfield, to receive a bachelor's degree in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and a master's degree in education school counseling. She has been completely retired from show business since 1986.
Raye returned to
LAX
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
on August 6, 2003, during the 75th anniversary year of LAX. She performed the song "L.A. International Airport" with a Bakersfield band and backup vocalists for an enthusiastic outdoor crowd from the airport community.
Susan Raye profile
Laws.org; accessed August 13, 2015.
Awards and nominations
Discography
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raye, Susan
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
American performers of Christian music
1944 births
Living people
Musicians from Eugene, Oregon
Capitol Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Oregon
21st-century American women