Ray Wylie Hubbard (born November 13, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter.

Early life

Hubbard was born on November 13, 1946, in Soper, Oklahoma. His family moved to

Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is an area of Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; established in 1887 and annexed by Dallas in 1903, Oak Cliff has retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older establ ...

in southwest

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High School with

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...

. Hubbard graduated in 1965 and enrolled in North Texas State University (now the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

) as an English major. He spent the summers in Red River, New Mexico, playing folk music in hootenannies with a trio known as Three Faces West.

Career

1970s

During his time in New Mexico, Hubbard wrote "Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother" first made famous by

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He also wrote t ...

's 1973 recording, and covered by a wide variety of other artists since. Bolstered by the success of the song, he was signed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. Hubbard then assembled a band of friends and locals and, in 1976, released ''Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Cowboy Twinkies.'' Unbeknownst to Hubbard, producer Michael Brovsky had decided to "Nashville-ize" the sound by adding overdub mixes and female backup singers to the recordings. The result was "a botched sound" that Hubbard disapproved of vehemently, but the album was released despite his attempts to block it.

1980s

Hubbard then recorded albums for various other labels for the next decade, but struggled with the sales of his mix of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. The last album he recorded in the 1980s was ''Caught in the Act'' (1984) on his newly formed ''Misery Loves Company'' record label.

1990s and beyond

He returned to recording in the early 1990s, and released his album ''Lost Train of Thought'' in 1992, followed by ''Loco Gringo's Lament'' in 1994. Eventually a steady following began to re-discover Hubbard's music and he has been recording steadily since. He describes his 2017 album ''Tell the Devil I'm Getting There as Fast as I Can'' as rock & roll, though his style has become associated with outlaw country.

Personal Life

Hubbard was first married to D'Ann Griffin, with whom he had a son, Cory. Hubbard married his current wife, Judy Stone, on February 18, 1989. They have a son, Lucas, who plays lead guitar in Hubbard's band. As of 2024, the couple maintains homes in

Taos, New Mexico Taos () is a town in Taos County, New Mexico, Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Santa Fe ...

and Wimberley, Texas. He struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and cocaine addiction throughout his thirties as his first marriage collapsed and both of his parents died, but he ultimately decided on his 41st birthday (in 1987) to get sober, crediting fellow musician

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

(who sobered up approximately a year earlier) for taking him to his first

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...

meeting.

Discography

* 1975 ''Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Cowboy Twinkies'' –

* 1978 ''Off the Wall'' – Lone Star Records/Mercury/Polygram * 1979 ''Something About the Night'' – Renegade Records * 1984 ''Caught in the Act'' – Misery Loves Company Records * 1992 ''Lost Train of Thought'' – Misery Loves Company/DejaDisc Records * 1994 ''Loco Gringo's Lament'' – Misery Loves Company/DejaDisc Records * 1997 ''Dangerous Spirits'' – Rounder/Philo Records * 1998 ''Live at Cibolo Creek'' – Misery Loves Company Records * 1999 ''Crusades of the Restless Knights'' – Rounder/Philo Records * 2001 ''Eternal and Lowdown'' – Rounder/Philo Records * 2003 ''Growl'' – Rounder/Philo Records * 2005 ''Delirium Tremolos'' – Rounder/Philo Records * 2006 ''Snake Farm'' – Sustain Records * 2010 ''A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is No C)'' – Bordello Records (Thirty Tigers/RED) * 2012 '' The Grifter's Hymnal'' – Bordello Records (Thirty Tigers/RED) * 2015 ''The Ruffian's Misfortune'' – Bordello Records (Thirty Tigers/RED) * 2017 ''Tell the Devil That I'm Getting There As Fast As I Can'' – Bordello Records (Thirty Tigers/RED) * 2020 ''Co-Starring'' –

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta and ...

* 2022 ''Co-Starring Too'' –

– Released March 18, 2022

Books

* ''A Life... Well, Lived'' (biography and memoir published in 2015) * ''The Messenger: The Songwriting Legacy of Ray Wylie Hubbard'' by author Brian T. Atkinson was published by Texas A&M University Press in 2019. The book includes forewords by Jerry Jeff Walker and Hayes Carll.

References

External links

*
THE SECOND LIFE OF RAY WYLIE HUBBARD
from

D Magazine ''D Magazine'' is a monthly magazine covering Dallas–Fort Worth. It is headquartered in Downtown Dallas. ''D Magazine'' covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first issue ...

(1993)
A Country Music Outlaw, Resurrected

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

July 24, 2006
Hubbard's Path: 'Redneck Mother' to 'Wylie Lama'

September 17, 2006
The Resurrection of Ray Wylie Hubbard: The Turnstyled Junkpiled Interview
(2012)
Ray Wylie Hubbard at The Kessler Theater in Dallas, TX : ''Ray Wylie Hubbard celebrated his 70th Birthday Bash with special guests Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams''
by David Simers in ''National Rock Review'' (November 24, 2016)
The 25 Best Ray Wylie Hubbard Songs
by Thomas Mooney in ''Wide Open Country'' (March 2018) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Ray Wylie 1946 births Living people People from Hugo, Oklahoma Country musicians from Oklahoma Country musicians from Texas American country singer-songwriters Musicians from Dallas University of North Texas alumni Music of Denton, Texas Outlaw country singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma People from Oak Cliff, Texas