P 34. A Girl In The NightIf you're not familiar with sound of a Ray Price shuffle here's a sterling example, Heart Over Mind, recorded in 1961.
Ray Price - Heart Over Mind (2:42)
Price's 1956 recording of Crazy Arms was the first time this developing sound was fully realized on record and it was his first #1 hit, spending an incredible 45 weeks on Billboard's Country chart. No doubt this was a huge influence on his decision to move further and further in this direction in the years to come.
One of the instantly recognizable trademarks of so many of Price's classic shuffle beat songs is the 3 bold and ringing fiddle notes (duh-duh-duh) from the instrument of ace session man Tommy Jackson that kick off so many of them.
This point was driven home to me many years ago when I was over at my pal Derek's house while he was listening to his newly acquired prize possession, Bear Family's 10 disc box set of Ray Price material that covered pretty much everything he recorded up until Danny Boy (1966), which was a pivotal event in his decision to shift to a more pop-oriented sound that would bring him numerous hits over the next decade, including Help Me Make It Through The Night and For The Good Times. Derek mentioned how frequently this intro was used and to illustrate his point, he began jumping from track to track on one of the discs and I was dumbfounded by just how many of them started with the exciting duh-duh-duh fiddle notes. It should be noted here that many of Price's recordings from this era begin with a loping steel guitar rather than the fiddle sound to which I've become addicted...
01. Crazy Arms
02. City Lights
03. Heartaches By The Number
04. Same Old Me
05. Pride
06. Wall Of Tears
07. One More Time
08. My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You
09. Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)
10. Go Away
11. Walk Me To The Door
12. All Right (I'll Sign The Papers)
13. Swingin’ Doors
14. I've Still Got Room For One More Heartache
15. A Way To Free Myself From You
16. Imagination's A Wonderful Thing
17. Who Will Be The First
18. I Wish I Could Fall In Love Today
19. I'm Not Crazy Yet
20. Rose Colored Glasses
21. Whose Heart Are You Breaking Now
22. You Don't Love Me (But I'll Always Care)
23. Too Much Love Is Spoiling You
24. Too Late
25. I Don't Know Why I Keep Loving You
26. The Other Woman
27. You Don't Care What Happens To Me
28. Hang Your Head In Shame
29. Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me
30. San Antonio Rose
31. I've Just Destroyed The World
32. There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight
33. Heart Over Mind
34. A Girl In The Night
35. If She Could See Me Now
36. I Want To Hear It From You
37. Touch My Heart
38. Take These Chains From My Heart
39. Please Talk To My Heart
40. Time Changes Everything
41. Take Back Your Old Love Letters
42. Take Me As I Am Or Let Me Go
43. My Confession
44. The Kind Of Love I Can't ForgetEvery once in a great while, I'll run into someone who hears the definitive Ray Price shuffle beat and moans, “Man, all that stuff sounds the same” to which my reply is a genuine “I know...that's what I like about it, too!”