Susan Raye
Encyclopedia
Susan Raye is an American
country music
singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid 1970's and chalked up seven top 10 and nineteen top 40 country hits Susan Raye discography
, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport
" , an international crossover pop hit in 1971.
Raye was a protegee of country music singer Buck Owens
. Owens and Raye recorded a number of hit albums and singles together, and were one of the most successful country duet acts of the era, in addition to their solo careers.
, eventually becoming the host of a Portland TV program called Hoedown.
It was at one of Raye's performances at an area nightclub where she met Jack McFadden, Owens' manager. McFadden was so impressed with her vocal talents that he persuaded Owens to fly her to his home in Bakersfield, California
, for an audition.
," made the Top 30 in 1970.
At about the same time, she began a nine-year stint as a featured performer on the program Hee Haw
.
Raye's biggest year as a solo artist came in 1971, when she issued three consecutive Top Ten hits: "L.A. International Airport
", "Pitty, Pitty, Patter", and "(I've Got A) Happy Heart". The title track of 1972's My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own also reached the Top Ten.
Although not her biggest country hit, "L.A. International Airport
" became Raye's signature song, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Country Chart
and a minor hit on the Billboard Pop Top 100
, peaking at #54. The record was a major international pop hit in several countries, however, enjoying its greatest success in New Zealand where it hit #1 for two weeks, and in Australia where it hit #2 and ranked as the #5 best-selling pop record of the year, outselling not only Lynn Anderson
's country crossover international smash "Rose Garden" but the first chart-topping hits of Australian natives Olivia Newton-John
and Helen Reddy
. Raye earned gold records from both countries.
Susan Raye became the first woman to become a major country artist without recording in Nashville, a feat previously accomplished only by male stars like Owens and Merle Haggard
. Raye was nominated for five Academy of Country Music
awards, three times as "Top Female Vocalist". http://www.acmcountry.com/awards/awardsSearch.php
Raye married Owens' drummer Jerry Wiggins in 1972. They have been married for over 30 years and are the parents of six children.
Raye had an additional two Top 20 Country hits in 1972 from separate albums, "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love Sure Feels Good in My Heart". In 1973 Raye's next album, Cheating Game, spawned two singles, one of which (the title track) reached #18 on the Billboard Country Chart that year. The second single, "When You Get Back from Nashville", was not as successful and peaked outside Country's Top 40. That same year, Raye and Owens reunited for an album, The Good Old Days (Are Again), and together they had a Top 40 hit from the album. In 1974, Raye's album Singing Susan Raye also released a Top 20 hit, a remake of "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)".
Raye's 1975 release "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Dog Like That", became her seventh Top 10 on the Billboard Country Chart and a duet single with Buck Owens, "Love is Strange
", placed in the Top 20 that year. In 1976 however, Owens severed his ties with Capitol Records and closed down his Bakersfield unit for the label. Susan Raye released her final album on Capitol in 1976, Honey Toast and Sunshine, her first recording session in Nashville.
at the end of 1976 and released one album on the label produced by George Richey
which spawned four charting singles, the most successful of which peaked at #51. It was Raye's last studio album issued from a major record label. In the late 70s, Raye dropped out of the music business, citing family and religion as her reasons.
Returning to the recording studio for the first time in eight years, Susan Raye released the album There and Back in 1985, which produced two more chart singles on Billboard. 1986 saw an additional album, Then and Now. The A-side of the album featured updated rerecordings of Raye's biggest hits. The songs on the B-side were gospel/contemporary Christian songs. This album is Raye's last recording to date.
. She went to college
to obtain a degree in psychology
in the early 1980s. She decided to continue her studies rather than build on her chart return and became a successful Christian psychologist
. She has been completely retired from show business since 1986.
Susan Raye returned to LAX on August 6, 2003 during the 75th anniversary year of LAX. She performed the song with a Bakersfield band and backup vocalists for an enthusiastic outdoor crowd from the airport community.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid 1970's and chalked up seven top 10 and nineteen top 40 country hits Susan Raye discography
Susan Raye discography
- Studio albums :- Collaborations with Buck Owens :- Compilation albums :- Singles :- Singles with Buck Owens :- B-sides :...
, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport
L.A. International Airport
L.A. International Airport is a song written by Leanne Scott thatbecame an international pop hit for American country singer Susan Raye in 1971....
" , an international crossover pop hit in 1971.
Raye was a protegee of country music singer Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
. Owens and Raye recorded a number of hit albums and singles together, and were one of the most successful country duet acts of the era, in addition to their solo careers.
Years before success
Raye was born in 1944 in Eugene, Oregon. She first began singing with a high-school rock group, but after the band called it quits, she auditioned for a local country station. Not only did she begin performing on the radio, she also landed work as a disc jockeyDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, eventually becoming the host of a Portland TV program called Hoedown.
It was at one of Raye's performances at an area nightclub where she met Jack McFadden, Owens' manager. McFadden was so impressed with her vocal talents that he persuaded Owens to fly her to his home in Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, for an audition.
Rise to success
She moved to Bakersfield and began singing with Owens in 1968, and soon after she cut her first recordings. One of these songs, "Put a Little Love in Your HeartPut a Little Love in Your Heart
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed in 1968 by Jackie DeShannon, who composed it with her brother, Randy Myers, and Jimmy Holiday. In the USA, it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching #4 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the Adult Contemporary charts...
," made the Top 30 in 1970.
At about the same time, she began a nine-year stint as a featured performer on the program Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
.
1970–1975: Breakthrough into the industry
Susan Raye's first sessions as Buck Owens's duet partner were released in 1970. The albums We're Gonna Get Together and The Great White Horse were Top 20 hits that year, as were the title tracks to each album and a third single, "Togetherness". The song "The Great White Horse" peaked at #8 and was the most successful Owens-Raye duet.Raye's biggest year as a solo artist came in 1971, when she issued three consecutive Top Ten hits: "L.A. International Airport
L.A. International Airport
L.A. International Airport is a song written by Leanne Scott thatbecame an international pop hit for American country singer Susan Raye in 1971....
", "Pitty, Pitty, Patter", and "(I've Got A) Happy Heart". The title track of 1972's My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own also reached the Top Ten.
Although not her biggest country hit, "L.A. International Airport
L.A. International Airport
L.A. International Airport is a song written by Leanne Scott thatbecame an international pop hit for American country singer Susan Raye in 1971....
" became Raye's signature song, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Country Chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
and a minor hit on the Billboard Pop Top 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, peaking at #54. The record was a major international pop hit in several countries, however, enjoying its greatest success in New Zealand where it hit #1 for two weeks, and in Australia where it hit #2 and ranked as the #5 best-selling pop record of the year, outselling not only Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
's country crossover international smash "Rose Garden" but the first chart-topping hits of Australian natives Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
and Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy , often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10...
. Raye earned gold records from both countries.
Susan Raye became the first woman to become a major country artist without recording in Nashville, a feat previously accomplished only by male stars like Owens and Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
. Raye was nominated for five Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
awards, three times as "Top Female Vocalist". http://www.acmcountry.com/awards/awardsSearch.php
Raye married Owens' drummer Jerry Wiggins in 1972. They have been married for over 30 years and are the parents of six children.
Raye had an additional two Top 20 Country hits in 1972 from separate albums, "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love Sure Feels Good in My Heart". In 1973 Raye's next album, Cheating Game, spawned two singles, one of which (the title track) reached #18 on the Billboard Country Chart that year. The second single, "When You Get Back from Nashville", was not as successful and peaked outside Country's Top 40. That same year, Raye and Owens reunited for an album, The Good Old Days (Are Again), and together they had a Top 40 hit from the album. In 1974, Raye's album Singing Susan Raye also released a Top 20 hit, a remake of "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)".
Raye's 1975 release "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Dog Like That", became her seventh Top 10 on the Billboard Country Chart and a duet single with Buck Owens, "Love is Strange
Love Is Strange
"Love Is Strange" was a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label.The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams. The co-writers of the song are of some dispute...
", placed in the Top 20 that year. In 1976 however, Owens severed his ties with Capitol Records and closed down his Bakersfield unit for the label. Susan Raye released her final album on Capitol in 1976, Honey Toast and Sunshine, her first recording session in Nashville.
1977–1984: Later Career
Raye signed with United Artists RecordsUnited Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
at the end of 1976 and released one album on the label produced by George Richey
George Richey
George Richey, born George Baker Richardson, was an American songwriter and record producer. He was married to country singer Tammy Wynette from 1978 until her death in 1998, they had no children together. He married television producer, Sheila Slaughter in 2001 until his death 2010, they had one...
which spawned four charting singles, the most successful of which peaked at #51. It was Raye's last studio album issued from a major record label. In the late 70s, Raye dropped out of the music business, citing family and religion as her reasons.
Returning to the recording studio for the first time in eight years, Susan Raye released the album There and Back in 1985, which produced two more chart singles on Billboard. 1986 saw an additional album, Then and Now. The A-side of the album featured updated rerecordings of Raye's biggest hits. The songs on the B-side were gospel/contemporary Christian songs. This album is Raye's last recording to date.
Other careers since music
Susan Raye is a devoted ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. She went to college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
to obtain a degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
in the early 1980s. She decided to continue her studies rather than build on her chart return and became a successful Christian psychologist
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. She has been completely retired from show business since 1986.
Susan Raye returned to LAX on August 6, 2003 during the 75th anniversary year of LAX. She performed the song with a Bakersfield band and backup vocalists for an enthusiastic outdoor crowd from the airport community.
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Awards | Award | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Most Promising Female Vocalist | |
| 1970 | Academy of Country Music | Most Promising Female Vocalist | |
| 1971 | Music City News Awards | Most Promising Female Vocalist | |
| Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | ||
| 1972 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | |
| 1973 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | |