Wade
Ray
Wade Ray is best known in Route 40 circles
as the performer who made the highway just a bit morer
famous with the trucking ballad "Idaho Red." The song
tells of a trucker who journeys from coast to coast,
reciting the names of cities and towns in a fashion
similar to Bobby Troupe's "(Get Your Kicks on) Route
66." The song was written by the songwriting team of
Frank R. Kauzlaric
and Larry Sullivan. Ray's recording was released by
RCA in 1954 as a 78 RPM single. The song is published
by Peer Music. Be sure to check the discography at the
end of this page for albums containing this great song.
I really enjoy "Idaho Red." The tune is quite
catchy and the Wade Ray recording has a great rockabilly sound, very
much like the one used for "Hot Rod Lincoln."
How does "Idaho Red" compare with other notable
road songs like "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66?" "Idaho
red" is much more singable than "Route 66" - have you
ever tried to hum "Route 66?" It can't be done. "Route
66" is musically a tough song to sing. Of the two or three dozen
recordings I've heard, only a few (Nat King Cole, Asleep at the Wheel,
the Brian Setzer Orchestra) can pull it off. The rest are down right
terrible. With all respects to songwriter Bobby Troup, for my money,
"Idaho Red" is a better song.
Below
are highlights of Wade's career.
Wade died on Wednesday, November 11, 1998. He was 82
years old and was living in Sparta, Illinois - not too far from Route
40! I spoke with Wade during the summer of 1998 over the telephone.
I had been trying to track him down for about a year and a half. Ray
had undergone major surgery earlier in the year and was not in great
health. Nonetheless, he was incredibly happy to speak with me.
I was particularly interested in how his recording
of "Idaho Red" came about. Wade said that when it came time
to do some recording, his producer brought in a stack of sheet music.
When he saw "Idaho Red," Wade said he immediatley put that
song in the "to do" pile.
Wade and I had planned to rendezvous, but as fate would
have it, the rendezvous will have to wait for a while longer. Wade was
a real gentleman. We'll miss you!
- Frank Brusca
Barry McCloud's Definitively
Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers
(Perigee Books, 1995) has a biography of Wade Ray. The following information
is excerpted from that book:
Lyman Wade Ray was born on April 6, 1916, in Evansville,
Indiana. Raised in Boynton,
Arkansas, Ray showed a real interest in the fiddle and by the time
he was 5, he was performing on stage as the "Youngest Violin Player in
the World." Ray soon took up singing and the guitar and tenor banjo.
In the 1930's, Ray was on the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit
touring Indiana. By age 10, he had amassed a collection of over 100
fiddles, most of which were given to him by his enthusiastic fans. He
continued touring until 1931 when he turned 18, then joining Pappy Cheshire's
National Champion Hillbillies on KMOX
in St. Louis. Ray continued this gig for the next 12 years. After a
year in the Army, Ray settled in Chicago and became a member of the
Prairie Ramlers often appearing on the WLS
National
Barn Dance (Chicago).
One of Wade Ray's great distinctions is that he was
the very first
person to play an electric fiddle.
Over the years, Wade Ray backed up performers such
as Patsy
Montana and the Ozark Mountain Boys.
In 1949, Ray moved to Los Angeles and became a regular
on the Rex
Allen Show. Ray's career really took off during this time, doing
a 10-year engagement at Cowtown and appearing regularly at clubs in
Reno, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. In the 1960's Ray was a regular on the
Grand Ole Opry,
the Ernest
Tubb Show and the Roy
Rogers Show.
Ray's recording career began in 1949 with a one year
contract with Paramount (now absorbed by MCA)
which produced three singles. In 1951, Ray signed with RCA
Victor and stayed with that label for six years releasing 23 singles!
"Idaho Red" was a single from this time period. In 1966, Ray signed
with ABC-Paramount (also absorbed by MCA) a released his first album,
A Ray of Country Sun. In 1967, Ray collaborated on a "who's who"
of country musicians on an album titled Down Yonder -- Country Fiddlers.
Other greats on that album included Homer & Jethro, Sonny Osborne and
Pig Robbins. The album was produced by Chet
Atkins.
Ray moved to Sparta, Illinois in 1979 and continued
playing with the KSD-AM
roadshow until his retirement. In Sparta, the town hosts an annual Wade
Ray Fiddling Contest.
Wade Ray married Grace Young. Wade died on Wednesday,
November 11, 1998. He was 82 years old.
