Commerce, TX. (Top40 Charts/ University Playhouse) - On Sunday, Feb. 22, the University Playhouse at
Texas A&M University-Commerce will present a Gala performance of "Hank Williams: Lost Highway" by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik, as a kick-off event for fundraising efforts to establish a new scholarship - the Ray Price
Texas Culture Award.
The Gala performance will be at 3 p.m. The play runs Thursdays through Sundays, Feb. 12-22, with the Gala set for the closing matinee. For tickets and information, call 903-886-5900.
Ray Price recently began his annual Birthday Tour with a performance in Longview, Texas, on the occasion of his 83rd birthday. Although there wasn't a big age difference between Ray Price and Hank Williams, Hank was a big influence on Ray's early career. Luckily for his fans around the world, Ray avoided the pitfalls that plagued Hank Williams' short life and he continues to entertain today.
Play director Jim Anderson said the idea of the scholarship developed over time. "I was talking to a friend, L.P. Gregg, who has a veterinary practice here in town, about the Hank Williams play."
He said, "My cousin, Ray, was pretty close to Hank. In fact they were roommates for a while."
He also told me that well over 100 of Ray Price's family members had attended Texas A&M University-Commerce, formerly East Texas State University.
"As I continued research fro the production, I listened to a lot of Ray Price's early recordings, and found that he even sounded a lot like Hank back then."
Ray Price's fans will know he organized the Cherokee Cowboys band from members of Hank Williams Drifting Cowboys band after Hank's death.
Since then, Ray has nurtured the careers of many country music stars, including Roger Miller, Don Helms, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Paycheck.
Ray developed his own unique style and gave Country music its international appeal. His rich, velvety crooning is packed with emotion and defies definition by genre.
Anderson said with the help of a colleague, Dr. Deborah Porter, herself a Country music performer, he got the chance to meet Ray Price and discuss the scholarship on the occasion of Ray's induction to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame , in Carthage , Texas .
"Since Ray Price's music appeals to everybody, we thought it appropriate that the scholarship in his name be available to any A&M-Commerce student, regardless of major," Anderson said.
One of the criteria for eligibility would be that the student make a contribution to the culture of Texas .
Contributions to the Ray Price Scholarship Fund can be made at the Gala, by mail, by sending checks payable to the A&M-Commerce Foundation, with "Ray Price" on the memo line. The address is Glenda L. Anderson,
Director of Advancement Services, Texas A&M University-Commerce, P.O. Box 3425, Commerce, TX 75429.
Online contributions can be made at: https://securepay.tamu-commerce.edu/foundation/campaign_giving/giving100.asp, and follow the link to the Ray Price fund.
