Collin Raye to Play at Merced Fair
By Diane Booth Conway,
Merced County Fair Publicity Director

   Country artist Collin Raye is coming back to the Merced County Fair.
   Raye previously played the fair in 2003, wowing fairgoers with his strong voice and electrifying performance. His first appearance at the fair was in 1995.
   Raye will perform at the 116th annual fair on Saturday, July 21 with one performance at 9 p.m. in the Fairgrounds' Toyota Outdoor Theatre, according to the fair's CEO Robin Hauck. He is the first headline act announced to perform at the fair, July 17-22.
   All fair entertainment is free with the price of admission. The theme is "Gateway to Great Cheese," a salute to cheese, one of the county's top agricultural products.
   Raye is only one of a handful of artists in the history of country music to see his first four albums -- 1991's "All I Can Be," 1992's "In This Life," 1994's "Extremes" and 1995's "I Think About You" -- achieve platinum status and to have eight singles top the charts. "Direct Hits: The Best of Collin Raye," from 1997, also went platinum. Five times nominated as country music's Male Vocalist of the Year, the artist is proud of his 25 Top Ten hits, 15 No. 1 smashes and 12 chart-topping videos.
   Raye is a passionate guy when it comes to his music. His fiery delivery has made country standards of No. 1 ballads including, "Love, Me," "In This Life," "Not That Different," and "Little Rock." The videos for those songs also went to the No. 1 spot and were named among CMT's Top 100 Videos of All Time.
   The long list of his other songs that soared to No. 1 on the country charts includes, "Couldn’t Last a Moment," "I Can Still Feel You," "Someone You Used to Know," "That's My Story," "My Kind of Girl," "On the Verge," "What the Heart Wants," "One Boy, One Girl," "I Think About You," and "That Was a River."
   Raye's latest album,"Twenty Years and Change," was recorded in between his busy concert schedule. The newest collection is a dozen songs from instant classics to bona fide classics. The list includes, "Let Your Love Flow," an island-flavored reinterpretation of The Bellamy Brothers hit and a heartfelt, "It's Only Make Believe," a tribute to the late Conway Twitty, one of Raye's idols. His remake of Don Henley's "You're Not Drinkin' Enough," takes the song straight into a honky-tonk tune.
   The collection also contains, "I Know That's Right," the first single off the album, which features a stirring message lyric. The title song, "Twenty Years and Change," was written by Raye. He's behind every note on this album and that's a first for him.
   Raye plans to keep making records -- his way. "I believe there's a reason things happen the way they do. I also believe that if you've treated people right and you continue to work hard at your craft, things will happen. I want to keep going. I want hit records. I want to make music.
   "My recording career isn't done by a long shot," Raye said. "I didn't go away into hibernation. I tour all the time, so I know there's a demand for a new album. I wouldn't put out records again unless I thought that people really wanted them. And they do."
   His commitment to music has been life-long. Born in Arkansas and raised in the region known as Texarkana, he moved to Texas as a kid and lives there today. At the age of 7 he joined his mother, Lois Wray, a country singer, on stage. His professional career began at 13, when Raye and his older brother, Scott, formed The Wray Brothers Band and toured Texas. The brothers migrated to lucrative casino work in Reno, Nev., and attracted Nashville's attention with a string of independent label singles. They signed with a record label and put out a couple of singles in 1986-87.
   But Scott tired of the road and the band broke up. Raye considered giving up music to support his young family but stuck to it and shot to fame with "Love, Me," in 1991. Fans were so touched by the song it became popular for memorial services and funerals and it started a string of meaningful songs. "Little Rock" became an anthem for the recovery community. "Not That Different," pleaded for tolerance and he won awards for the child-advocacy video, "I Think About You."
   Raye lends his support to a variety of causes and organizations including Al-Anon, Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, The Tennessee Task Force Against Domestic Violence, Make a Difference Day and Special Olympics.
   For more information, call 722-1507 or email to Info@MercedCountyFair.com or fax at 722-3773. Visit the 2007 Merced County Fair’s award-winning web site, www.MercedCountyFair.com

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