This evening, country singer Collin Raye will be on "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo" to talk about music, life, death, and faith:
The death of his 10 year old granddaughter in 2010 literally knocked Collin Raye to his knees, and challenged his faith like never before! Don't miss his story Thursday/ Thanksgiving Night on worldwide Television on EWTN at 8:00pm Est. Raye, who scored 16 #1 hits in country music, tells his story of conversion, the loss of Haley, and why he finally recorded a religious/ inspirational CD, His Love Remains. This is one for the entire family Thanksgiving night, his story, his incredible performance of GIVE ME JESUS and more.
I recently bought Raye's new CD, His Love Remains, after listening to some clips. Although I was familiar with some of Raye's country music (specifically, hits such as "Love, Me" and "Little Rock"), this album was a surprise as I didn't know that Raye was a Catholic, nor did I fully appreciate the beauty of his amazing tenor. At a point in life (Raye is in his early fifties) when many singers lose power, range, and clarity, Raye's voice is an effortless, pure instrument. And on His Love Remains he clearly pours all of his talents into a collection of hymns that express his faith and beliefs very clearly.
While some contemporary Catholic music (and I use that term rather broadly) often suffers from mediocre, overwrought production, Raye wisely uses a very spare, mostly acoustic approach (no "wall of sound", thankfully!), which not only highlights his voice, but brings the lyrics and melodies even further to the forefront. Highly recommended.
Here is a promotional video with clips from the album and interviews with Raye and guest singers, Andrea Thomas and Marie Bellet:
His Love Remains is available from Ignatius Press.
Me neither.
I always thought that all country singers are southern baptist :).
Posted by: beng | Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 03:05 PM
Raye recorded a song called "I Think About You" back in the 90s which I always thought did a great job giving the gut level Christian attitude towards sex as something special.
Posted by: Joe | Friday, November 25, 2011 at 08:00 AM