Country music in America lost one of its finest last week with the passing of Ray Price.

He was 87 and died at home in Texas from pancreatic cancer. He was one of the last of the direct links with the era of Hank Williams.

Ray stayed with Hank for a time between his divorce from Audrey and marrying Billy Jean. He was a major star on the country scene, having first charted around 1959, and enjoyed a string of hits during the 1960s and ’70s.

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Among them were Heartaches by The Numbers (A Harlan Howard classic), City Lights, Crazy Arms, Release Me and others. In 1967, he recorded Danny Boy and scored a top 10 hit with it in the American country charts.

However, it was through his friendship with a new, young and emerging songwriter that Ray suddenly enjoyed a whole new lease of life. Kris Kristofferson was writing the best songs of his life and Ray was the first to enjoy a major hit with For The Good Times, which also became a cross-over pop hit. Price charted several songs written by Kris and their friendship endured through the years.

From honky tonk to western swing, to the more lush arrangements of the Nashville Sound, Ray Price moved with panache and ease. In a moving tribute, Merle Haggard said: “Ray Price was the mentor and the leader. He was discovered and brought to Columbia Records by Lefty Frizzell, and he made his first record on Columbia with Lefty’s band.

“There’s mountains and valleys in this business, but Ray had his second run in the ’70s and ’80s with For the Good Times and those great ballads that kept his streak going for so long.

“Johnny Cash used to say: ‘There’s nothing a hit record won’t cure.’ I’ll just say I was glad to know Ray Price.”