For the United States Navy admiral, see
Gene F. Price.
Gene Price (February 27, 1944 – August 13, 2013), also credited as Willard Eugene Price and Willard E. Price, was an American songwriter, primarily noted for his songwriting association with
Buck Owens. He was also a member of
Merle Haggard's backing band
The Strangers.
History
Price is a musician and vocalist, in addition to being a songwriter. He was born in
Shamrock, Texas.[1] His initial success was through his association with the "
Bakersfield sound". Price was a bass player for
Merle Haggard and a songwriter with Buck Owens.[2][3] He was particularly successful as a recorded songwriter on various
Capitol Records releases in the early 1970s. One of his best known songs is "In The Arms of Love",[2] co-written with Owens and recorded by Merle Haggard,[4]Susan Raye,
Wynn Stewart and
Freddie Hart, among others.
Other songs for which Price is known include "Let's Keep The Memories Warm", solely written by Price and recorded by
Terry Stafford in 1973, for inclusion on Stafford's album Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose (
Atlantic, 1973)[5] Other songs written with Owens include "The Biggest Storm of All",[6] "Natural Born Loser",[7] "Across This Town and Gone",[8]"Something's Wrong", "I'll Be All Right Tomorrow"[9] and "I've Carried This Torch Much Too Long".[2]
Later in his career, Price had a degree of
pop music success with some of his songs. For example, his song "Come To Me", solely written by Price,[10] was recorded twice by
Aretha Franklin within a 10-year period.[11]
^Price is one of many with mixed feelings about Buck Owens. Owens' reputation, following his death in 2006, was tarnished by revelations of behaviors significantly at variance with Owens's public image. Price is quoted as describing Owens as "a very bad man who made very good music". See Charlie Gillis,
Review of Eileen Sisk, Buck Owens: The Biography ,Maclean's magazine, August 19, 2010; www2.macleans.ca.