Wayne Raney | |
|---|---|
 Wayne Raney, Schaeffer Studio, Hollywood, California, 1950 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | August 17, 1921 Wolf Bayou, Arkansas, United States |
| Died | January 23, 1993 (aged 71) Arkansas, United States |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | musician, singer |
| Instrument(s) | Harmonica |
| Years active | 1934–1980s |
Wayne Raney (August 17, 1921[1] – January 23, 1993)[2] was an American country singer and harmonica player.
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]
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.
