Country singer Ray Price dies

Before entering the hospital,Price had assured his fans that he was at peace.

“I am at peace. I love Jesus. I’m going to be just fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you again one day,” he had said.

Country radio veteran Bill Mack,who has been acting as a

spokesman for the family in recent days,relayed on Facebook that Price’s wife Janie called him to confirm the singer had died.

“Ray Price left for heaven at 4:43 PM Central Time. He went in perfect peace,” Mack wrote on his Facebook page.

Many news outlets reported on Sunday that Price had died only to retract it later. The story was picked up by the news

outlets after Price’s son,Cliff,mistakenly wrote on Facebook

that he had “heard” his father had passed. He took the post

down later,saying he was “deceived by some cruel people.”

In a career spanning more than six decades,Price’s recording ranged from honky-tonk to western swing to a more lush sound in the 1960s that brought him some of the biggest hits of his career,said the Hollywood Reporter

Price was born January 12,1926 in Perryville,Texas. Upon

turning 18,Price enlisted in the Marines,where he stayed for

two years.

The singer later moved to Nashville after signing a contract with Columbia Records.

His first five releases failed to hit the charts but he managed to break into the top five in 1952 with ‘Talk to Your Heart’ which became No 3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs.

Price was mentored by Hank Williams for a time and with another hit ‘Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes’ his star was on the rise.

He soon formed his band,the Cherokee Cowboys,in 1953.

The band helped many future artistes like Roger Miller,Willie

Nelson,Darrell McCall,and Johnny Paycheck. Some of his

biggest hits of the era included ‘City Lights’,’Crazy Arms’ and 1959’s ‘Heartaches By The Number’.

In the ’60s Price dominated the charts with singles such as ‘Pride’,’Walk Me to the Door’ and ‘Burning Memories’.

He also was the first artist to record ‘Make the World Go Away’ earning a No 2 hit with the song two years before Eddy

Arnold recorded his version.

Price’s other chart-toppers include ‘For The Good Times’,’I Won’t Mention It Again’,’The Lonesomest Lonesome’,’She’s Got To Be A Saint’,’You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened

To Me’,’Like Old Times Again’,and ‘Roses And Love Songs’,’It Don’t Hurt Me Half As Bad’ and ‘Diamond In The Stars’.

Price was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

Price was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late 2012 but he continued to fight the disease and even recorded a new album in the process. The album,tentatively titled ‘Love Songs In Nashville’,is expected be released in 2014.