Wayne Raney (August 17, 1921 – January 23, 1993) was an American

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, ...

singer and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player.

Biography

Raney was born on a farm near Wolf Bayou, Cleburne County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, United States, 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. After learning to play harmonica at an early age, he moved to

Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...

, Mexico at age 13, where he played on radio station XEPN. He met Lonnie Glosson, his long-time musical associate, in 1936, and together they found work on radio in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

in 1938. Later the pair worked for WCKY out of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and played on syndicated radio. They also established a harmonica

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

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. Raney played with the

Delmore Brothers Alton Delmore (December 25, 1908 – June 9, 1964) and Rabon Delmore (December 3, 1916 – December 4, 1952), billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneer singer-songwriters and musicians who were stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the ...

in the years after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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. His 1949 single, "

Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me" is a song first recorded in 1949 by Wayne Raney, written by Raney and his musical partner Lonnie Glosson. Raney had the most successful release of his career, when his version of "Why Don't You Haul Off an ...

", was a No. 1 country hit and also hit the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

of the pop chart. Raney played the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

in 1953, and also worked on the ''California Hayride'' and the ''

WWVA Jamboree The ''Wheeling Jamboree'' is the second-oldest country music radio broadcast in the United States after the ''Grand Ole Opry''. The Jamboree originated in 1933 in Wheeling, West Virginia on WWVA, the first radio station in West Virginia and a 5 ...

''. Late in the 1950s he worked as a DJ,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

owner, starting

Rimrock Records Rimrock is the sheer rock wall at the upper edge of a plateau, canyon, or geological uplift. It may refer to either the rock formation or to the rock itself. Rimrock may be composed of almost any stone—basalt, gneiss, granite, sandstone, et ...

. He wrote the 1959 Christian revival song, "

We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll) "We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll)" is a Christian country music, Christian country song originally written and recorded by Wayne Raney in 1959. It later attracted renewed interest during the American folk music rev ...

", which has been covered by numerous artists in a variety of styles. These include

People! People! was an American one-hit wonder rock band that was formed in San Jose, California in 1965. Their greatest chart success came with their summer hit single "I Love You". The song, written by The Zombies bass guitarist Chris White, rose ...

The Greenbriar Boys The Greenbriar Boys were an American northern bluegrass music group. who first got together in jam sessions in New York's Washington Square Park. The group disbanded in 1970. Biography In 1958, guitarist and vocalist John Herald formed The Gr ...

and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

. He recorded country music into the early 1960s, including for his own label, but ceased the mail-order business in 1960. After returning to Arkansas, he recorded a gospel album called ''Don't Try to Be What You Ain't''. Eventually he went into semi-retirement, running his own chicken farm and performing only occasionally in the late 1960s and 1970s. While he appeared sporadically on ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on ...

'' 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''. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1993. Raney was honored posthumously with the Arkansas Country Music Award for "Lifetime Achievement" on June 3, 2018, at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, Little Rock.

References

External links

Wayne Raney and the Delmore Brothers, Sessionography, Discography, Biography
*

Wayne Raney Wayne Raney (August 17, 1921 – January 23, 1993) was an American country music, country singer and harmonica player. Biography Raney was born on a farm near Wolf Bayou, Cleburne County, Arkansas, Cleburne County, Arkansas, United States, the ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raney, Wayne 1921 births 1993 deaths American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Arkansas King Records artists Starday Records artists Charly Records artists American country harmonica players 20th-century American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Deaths from cancer in Arkansas Country musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American male singers