Ricky Ray moved from Muscle Shoals, in Alabama, to Nashville, with a vintage Martin guitar, a red pickup truck and the faith that he could write songs that could touch the world’s heart. At Tree Publishing, he met Don Gant and most of Music Row’s writing talent. Ricky helped Don start Golden Bridges, Old Friends Publishing, moving Don, his songs and all those writing friends in that red pickup truck.
Tom T. Hall asked him to join his national tour in 1977 as lead guitar. Tom T. gave Ricky Ray his nickname, “Rambles”, as well as Ray’s first on-stage appearance in the East Room at the Whitehouse.
Ricky rejoined Don Gant and Music Row, trading life on tour for an opportunity to stay in town and write with his friends. He realized early that building a catalog and owning his own publishing was a path that brought him more pleasure than constant session work, touring, and performing month-after-month.
Along the way, he built his own analog studio in a log cabin in Franklin, then traded-up to a truly portable, digital rig that he calls “Icicle Sound”, partly because of his preference to record, year-round, outside. For Ray, songs happen in unlikely places at unlikely times and Icicle Sound forever blurs the line between creating music and performing music, because with Icicle Sound it happens at the same time.
Ray’s music comes from life experiences, but also from a spiritual place next to his log cabin, around a fire, surrounded by angels and the spirits of Carl Perkins, Tony Joe White, Riley ‘BB’ King, Larry Henley, and W.S. Holland,
Ray co-produced many of the episodes on Music Path including “Rolling Stone’s Sax Man”, “Bruce Channel – Hey Baby”, “Sonny Throckmorton”, “Granny’s Angels”, “A Tree Becomes a Guitar”, Waylon Jennings – Never Say Die”, Musician’s Rights” and “Deborah Allen – Memphis Girl”.
John Reitzammer is creator of Music Path. John started Images, Inc., which grew to be the largest corporate production company in Florida with offices in Jacksonville, St. Simons, Atlanta and Ponte Vedra. He was named Commissioner of Film and Television for Florida by Governor Lawton Chiles opening permanent offices in Miami Beach and Los Angeles with a goal of a billion dollars in measured annual economic impact. The goal was achieved in the final year of Governor Chiles’ second term in office.
John created Music Path to explore and enhance the Tennessee music heritage, its
present and future, using the stories, locations, and inspirations of creative writers
and performers from across the Southern United States.
Music Path is a podcast about music, and some of the places, in the United States where it was conceived and performed. It includes blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock and roll music, but also the artists who lived it, wrote it and performed it.
Whether you’re interested in music from Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas or Tennessee, states that make up the Americana Music Triangle, or the Tennessee Music Pathway, you’ll hear about cool places you’ll want to visit.
Music Path on an individual level is also about writing, performing and getting your music heard. If you love music, but don’t create it, you’ll hear from musicians who do, about life on the road and in the studio and some of the things that make them laugh… or sigh.
We hope you’ll join us the first and third Monday of each month for our podcast on iTunes. Go to our website music-path.org for show notes, coupons and exclusive offers. Leave a comment and tell someone else about our show.
Music Path is brought to you by The Legends of Tennessee Music Museum at the Carnegie in Jackson Tennessee, the world’s largest Carl Perkins exhibit and the site of the first Hard Rock Café in the U.S.
Jackson is located between Nashville and Memphis on Interstate 40.
The world’s largest Carl Perkins exhibit and the story of how Jackson local, Isaac Tigrett, founded the Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues.
Ricky Rays age maybe a mystery but his music is ageless! I’ve had the pleasure of swapping songs with the guitar and song master for many years! He is well respected wherever he decides to sit and pick a few of his classic hit songs as well as his new creations. God has blessed this man with a ton of talent. ❤️
Ricky Ray:
What an absolute privilege to experience your music on 10-5-2018 in Huntsville Alabama at Jim Parker’s Songwriters Showcase. Your musicianship is legendary and, as a historian, to see your passion in keeping stories told and keeping narratives alive is even more invigorating. Applause to what you are doing with Music-Path. I spoke with a fellow songwriter prior to the show – he was familiar with your work and made this quote “It’s like his guitar is an extension of his body.” As I witnessed you perform, that quote rang true.
Thank you. It was great to be in Huntsville.
Hope you are doing well Ricky , been a long time I will try and come and see you when you are in the neighborhood. Good Luck !