Ray Harrison

Obituaries and remembrances
of steel guitarists, their friends and families

Moderators: Donna Dodd, Lori Lee Smith

User avatar
Bill Dobkins
Posts: 4303
Joined: 3 Feb 2007 10:18 pm
Location: Rolla Missouri, USA

Ray Harrison

Post by Bill Dobkins »

I heard that Ray had passed.
Custom Rittenberry SD10
Boss Katana 100 Amp
Positive Grid Spark amp
BJS Bars
Z~Legend Pro,Custom Tele
Honor our Vet's.
Now pass the gravy.
Joe Rogers
Posts: 763
Joined: 16 Oct 1999 12:01 am
Location: Lake Charles, LA USA

Post by Joe Rogers »

It really hurts my heart to read this. Steel guitar shows will never be the same without Ray....

Rest in peace my dear friend.....


Joe Rogers
Russ Hicks
Posts: 734
Joined: 25 Feb 2003 1:01 am
Location: Pegram, Tennessee, USA

Post by Russ Hicks »

What Joe said....I just talked to him before his stroke....we've all lost a great guy and I've lost a good friend.
Skip Edwards
Posts: 3080
Joined: 1 Dec 1998 1:01 am
Location: LA,CA

Post by Skip Edwards »

Oh, no... this is terrible news. Getting to see, hang with and back up Ray was always a high point of the Phoenix shows for me.
He'll be missed, big time. My sincere condolences to Sandra, and everyone else who knew & loved him.
Vaya con Dios, Ray. Say hi to Al Bruno for me...
User avatar
Ron Whitworth
Posts: 2161
Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
Location: Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!

Post by Ron Whitworth »

So very sad to hear & read this.
Ray was a good friend & I always enjoyed being
around him & watching him play & Sing.
Rest in peace my friend..
Ron
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."

We need to turn the TWANG up a little

It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.

They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head :)

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron

the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.
User avatar
Larry Dering
Posts: 5982
Joined: 17 May 2013 11:20 am
Location: Missouri, USA

Post by Larry Dering »

Terrible news. Another great one gone. You can bet the steel shows lost a considerable talent with Ray's passing. RIP Ray.
User avatar
Bob Blair
Posts: 2645
Joined: 15 Jul 1999 12:01 am
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Post by Bob Blair »

This is very sad news. I enjoyed my visits with Ray at the shows, and of course loved his singing.
User avatar
Stu Schulman
Posts: 6523
Joined: 15 Oct 1998 12:01 am
Location: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

Post by Stu Schulman »

I am totally bummed,Ray was a good friend...I will miss him!
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.
Steve Cattermole
Posts: 241
Joined: 15 Jan 2018 8:45 pm
Location: California, USA

Post by Steve Cattermole »

That is sad news. I only met Ray about 5 years ago,but he always treated me like an old friend. The Steel show won't be the same without him.RIP Ray
User avatar
Herb Steiner
Posts: 12617
Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
Location: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Post by Herb Steiner »

Another tough one for me. Ray always sang a song or two on my shows in AZ, usually one of Wade Ray's repertoire. A dear friend, always with a shot of Jose Cuervo within arm's reach. When Bowman and I would drive to AZ, we would sometimes spend the night at Ray and Sandra's house in Tucson before the last leg of the trip to PHX. We disagreed politically, but it mattered not to our friendship. I will miss him and the shows will have a little less warmth.
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?
User avatar
Jim R. Harrison
Posts: 540
Joined: 5 Nov 2007 12:37 pm
Location: North Vancouver, B. C., Canada

Post by Jim R. Harrison »

I, like rest of you, will miss Ray very much. At my visit to the show in Mesa, he introduced me to someone as his "Canadian Cousin" - which I'm not.
Herb, here's one for you.

Image
User avatar
Roy Rosetta
Posts: 2709
Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
Location: Nederland, Texas.. On the Texas Gulf Coast

Post by Roy Rosetta »

Very sad news. Ray has been a friend for many, many years. Our prayers for Sandra and the family. Rest in peace dear friend and go be with our Precious Lord.
...Roy and Barbara
Music is a "gift" with many wrappings....
....Roy
Jody Cameron
Posts: 2024
Joined: 12 Jul 2000 12:01 am
Location: Angleton, TX,, USA

Post by Jody Cameron »

So sorry to hear this. Rest In Peace my friend.
User avatar
Chuck S. Lettes
Posts: 2296
Joined: 14 Aug 2000 12:01 am
Location: Denver, Colorado

Post by Chuck S. Lettes »

Sad news. I always enjoyed talking with Ray at the SWSGA's annual show. He loved to sing and entertain, and I will miss him. My condolences to Ray's family.
Chuck
User avatar
Donna Dodd
Posts: 6843
Joined: 29 Jul 2003 12:01 am
Location: Acworth, Georgia, USA

Post by Donna Dodd »

Ray was a jewel of a man! He treated me like one of the guys, and always made me smile! He called me last year when we were in NC to check on Tommy. Tommy was having a good day, and I handed the phone over. It was wonderful to hear them laugh and kid each other!
My love, prayers and deepest condolences go out to Sandra and family.
❤️🙏
Donna Dodd
Georgia Steel Guitar Association (GaSGA) Board Member & Website Administrator
"Every person is a new door to a different world."
- from movie Six Degrees of Separation

Come visit my steel guitar store on CafePress! http://www.cafepress.com/zoomwithaview
Webmaster, http://www.georgiasteelguitar.com
User avatar
Rick Schmidt
Posts: 3282
Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
Location: Prescott AZ, USA

Post by Rick Schmidt »

Loved Ray! Rest easy my friend!
User avatar
Fred Justice
Posts: 6584
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 1:01 am
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Post by Fred Justice »

Rest in peace Ray, I'll miss you.
Email: azpedalman@gmail.com
Phone: 480-235-8797
Bill Bailey
Posts: 1675
Joined: 19 Aug 1998 12:01 am
Location: Kingman, AZ

Ray Harrison

Post by Bill Bailey »

:whoa: Shocked to hear of Ray's passing, he was the consummate Steel Players friend, Bass man and singer. I was invited to play the 6th SWSGA show and Ray played bass on my set, he also sang Harmony on my vocals, we had lunch afterward and told me about a CD he had just recorder with the great John Hughey on steel, and a first call band to record it with all super players. I have the album and still enjoy every song on it. My favorite is "Somewhere Out In Texas" The album is titled Scratchin' The Surface. RIP Ray, you will be missed by us all.
Bill Bailey
Kingman Arizona
2014 Mullen G2 D 10 8+5 Black
92 Emmons Lashley LeGrande D-10
Two Nashville 400 Amps and Nashvill 112.