Wade Ray born 13 April 1913

Wade Ray (April 13, 1913– November 11, 1998) was an American Western Swing fiddler and vocalist. His bands, the Wade Ray Five, Wade Ray And His Ozark Mountain Boys, etc., included musicians such as Kenneth Carllile and Curly Chalker.

Fiddler Wade Ray made his name playing traditional country and Western swing from a very young age but made very few recordings of his own over his lengthy career. Born Lyman Wade Ray in Evansville, Indiana, he grew up in Boynton, AR, and at age four began playing a homemade fiddle his father fashioned from a cigar box. Just a year later, he was touring the vaudeville circuit as the World's Youngest Violin Player; he also learned to play tenor banjo and remained a vaudeville regular until his 18th birthday in 1931. 

A keen collector of fiddles, Wade amassed over a hundred in a short period of time and by the time he was 18 had a collection of over a hundred. He then moved to St. Louis and spent the next 12 years as the fiddler, singer, and musical director for Pappy Cheshire's Western swing group, the National Champion Hillbillies, who performed locally as well as having a regular radio slot on station KMOX. Wade was then called to serve in the Army in 1943.

Upon his return, he joined Patsy Montana's group the Prairie Ramblers for several years, also recording with the Ozark Mountain Boys. He moved to Los Angeles in 1949, where he became a regular on The Rex Allen Show and appeared in the film Hollywood. Wade Ray has the distinction of being the first performer to play with an electric fiddle.

                                    

Wade's recording carer as a solo performer kicked off in 1949 when he signed for the Paramount label, although this association was short-lived and by 1951 he had switched to the RCA label and released a total of 23 singles from 1951 to 1957, none of which charted. In 1954 Wade cut the proto-rockabilly number "Idaho Red" which was one of the all time great road songs and still a hot favourite in clubs today. Other recordings from this period included the equally good 'It's All Your Fault' and 'Cuddle Bug'. 

He made a good living appearing regularly at the "Cow Town", a legendary western night club in Los Angeles, and played frequent gigs in various Nevada resort towns; he also appeared regularly on The Roy Rogers Show and The Ernest Tubb Show. He moved to Nashville and did session work in the mid-'60s and also recorded his first solo album, A Ray of Country Sun, for ABC-Paramount in 1966. RCA Camden released Walk Softly (And Other Country Songs) later that year, and in 1967 Ray collaborated with the likes of Homer & Jethro, Sonny Osborne, and Hargus "Pig" Robbins on Down Yonder: The Country Fiddlers. He also managed the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, 1967-1970.

He continued his session work until 1979, when he retired to Sparta, Illinois where he continued playing "for fun" and supporting the annual 'Wade Ray Fiddle Contest' which continues to this day. Wade continued playing until 1997. He performed with a local radio station's road show until health problems made it impossible, with his final performance being alongside Willie Nelson. He passed away on November 11, 1998 and was laid to rest at Ellis Grove City Cemetery, Illinois.

(Edited from AllMusic, his Is My Story & Hill-Billy Music)