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Background

My singing and songwriting has taken me from my old Kentucky home to venues all across the United States, Europe and Central America. I have opened shows for acts as wide ranging as comedian Foster Brooks and bands like Cheery Trudge and Blank Pages.

As a songwriter, my influences include Guy Clark, Jackson Browne, and Jim Croce. But I probably learned the most from my old musical partner, Frank Arduini - with whom I fulfilled a bucket list item in July of 2024, when we reunited as a duo to perform on the main stage of Eisenhower Hall at the US Military Academy, West Point, NY.

Arduini and Ray at West Point

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My Story

I am the son of a Mom who was the church choir director and a Dad who thought, "Musicians are all bums!" 

I got my first guitar at the age of 13 and almost immediately started writing songs. But I really began to grow as a songwriter when I connected with Frank Arduini, while we were both West Point cadets in the late '70s. As a duo, we performed from New York to California, wherever the Army sent us - and my songwriting broadened and matured as I learned from Frank's example.

When the Army sent us off to different parts of the world, I continued to perform regularly on my own, even as I filled up notebook after notebook with new songs.

Through three careers, marriage, family, love and deep losses, I continued to sharpen my craft while playing the occasional gig. 

Now, in retirement, I have eagerly returned to performing on a regular basis, sharing my songs with the world.

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“I would love to hear your long story. I would love to hear the path that brought you to a place to sculpt that kind of art. That kind of art doesn't usually happen out of a well-disciplined writer. It comes out of, unfortunately, life events. It comes out of experiences. And, generally, it comes out of deciding you're going to look at the hand you've been dealt and play it. And, you're playing it, Brother.” 

-Ron Flack, host of Bring Your Song, Canton, OH