Raney was born on a farm near Wolf Bayou, Cleburne County, Arkansas, United States,[1] the youngest of five children of William Franklin (Frank) Raney and Bonnie Davis Raney. Born with a foot deformity, he could not do heavy labor.[3] After learning to play harmonica at an early age, he moved to Piedras Negras, Mexico at age 13, where he played on radio station XEPN.[1] He met Lonnie Glosson, his long-time musical associate, in 1936, and together they found work on radio in Little Rock in 1938.[1] Later the pair worked for WCKY out of Cincinnati and played on syndicated radio.[1] They also established a harmonica mail order business which ended up being enormously successful; they sold millions of harmonicas and played a major role in turning the harmonica into a popular instrument.[1]
After returning to Arkansas, he recorded a gospel album called Don't Try to Be What You Ain't.[2] Eventually he went into semi-retirement, running his own chicken farm and performing only occasionally in the late 1960s and 1970s.[2] While he appeared sporadically on Hee Haw in the 1970s, he lost his voice in the 1980s and ceased performing; in 1990 he published an autobiography entitled Life Has Not Been a Bed of Roses.[2] He died of cancer in 1993.[2]
Raney was honored posthumously with the Arkansas Country Music Award for "Lifetime Achievement" on June 3, 2018, at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock.
wayne, raney, motorcycle, racer, wayne, rainey, august, 1921, january, 1993, american, country, singer, harmonica, player, schaeffer, studio, hollywood, california, 1950background, informationborn, 1921, august, 1921wolf, bayou, arkansas, united, statesdiedjan. For the motorcycle racer see Wayne Rainey Wayne Raney August 17 1921 1 January 23 1993 2 was an American country singer and harmonica player Wayne RaneyWayne Raney Schaeffer Studio Hollywood California 1950Background informationBorn 1921 08 17 August 17 1921Wolf Bayou Arkansas United StatesDiedJanuary 23 1993 1993 01 23 aged 71 Arkansas United StatesGenresCountryOccupation s musician singerInstrument s HarmonicaYears active1934 1980sBiography editRaney was born on a farm near Wolf Bayou Cleburne County Arkansas United States 1 the youngest of five children of William Franklin Frank Raney and Bonnie Davis Raney Born with a foot deformity he could not do heavy labor 3 After learning to play harmonica at an early age he moved to Piedras Negras Mexico at age 13 where he played on radio station XEPN 1 He met Lonnie Glosson his long time musical associate in 1936 and together they found work on radio in Little Rock in 1938 1 Later the pair worked for WCKY out of Cincinnati and played on syndicated radio 1 They also established a harmonica mail order business which ended up being enormously successful they sold millions of harmonicas and played a major role in turning the harmonica into a popular instrument 1 Raney played with the Delmore Brothers in the years after World War II then launched a solo career in 1948 his first two singles Lost John Boogie and Jack and Jill Boogie both reached the Top 15 of the U S country chart 1 His 1949 single Why Don t You Haul Off and Love Me was a No 1 country hit and also hit the Top 40 of the pop chart 2 Raney played the Grand Ole Opry in 1953 1 and also worked on the California Hayride and the WWVA Jamboree 2 Late in the 1950s he worked as a DJ record producer and label owner starting Rimrock Records 1 He wrote the 1959 Christian revival song We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus and a Lot Less Rock and Roll which has been covered by numerous artists in a variety of styles These include People The Greenbriar Boys and Linda Ronstadt He recorded country music into the early 1960s including for his own label but ceased the mail order business in 1960 2 After returning to Arkansas he recorded a gospel album called Don t Try to Be What You Ain t 2 Eventually he went into semi retirement running his own chicken farm and performing only occasionally in the late 1960s and 1970s 2 While he appeared sporadically on Hee Haw in the 1970s he lost his voice in the 1980s and ceased performing in 1990 he published an autobiography entitled Life Has Not Been a Bed of Roses 2 He died of cancer in 1993 2 Raney was honored posthumously with the Arkansas Country Music Award for Lifetime Achievement on June 3 2018 at the University of Arkansas Little Rock References edit a b c d e f g h i Colin Larkin ed 1993 The Guinness Who s Who of Country Music First ed Guinness Publishing pp 332 3 ISBN 0 85112 726 6 a b c d e f g h Manheim James Wayne Raney AllMusic Retrieved 24 January 2017 Bledsoe C L Wayne Raney 1921 1993 Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture CentralAtkansas LibrarySystem Retrieved 24 January 2017 External links editWayne Raney and the Delmore Brothers Sessionography Discography Biography Wayne Raney at AllMusic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wayne Raney amp oldid 1177561989, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
