“Music came naturally to me from the day I was born because everyone in my family either played or sang or both”, says Bill Pray. “But Western Swing was not my first choice in music.”
William Howard Pray was born seven miles outside of Abilene, Kansas, on December 24, 1931. When he was two years old, his family moved to Hope, Kansas, where, at age 5, Bill made his singing debut with his father at a school meeting. He discovered there, a love he’s never lost. Bill’s Uncle John, whom he idolized, taught him to play guitar and the two of them played dances until Bill was 19.
Bill dreamed of a career in country music and he idolized such greats then as Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb, Red Foley, and especially, Hank Snow.
At 19, Bill joined the Navy for two reasons; first, he wanted to avoid being drafted into the Army, and second, he knew he would be sent to San Diego, California, just 30 miles from his father. Bill had missed his father very much, since his father had left his mother, but joining the Navy meant he could live with his beloved Dad once again.
Bill’s dad introduced him to Smokey Rogers, who, as well as being part of the Tex Williams band, played at his own club, the Bostonia Ballroom. Bill auditioned for Smokey one afternoon and became his featured vocalist that very evening. Working for Smokey meant a two-hour television shows every day and the club every weekend. It was a great time for Bill because he met and made music with many big names in country music, including Pedro DePaul, Cactus Jorey, Johnny Weiss, Earl James "Joaquin" Murphey, and Dean Ecker.
With his Navy stint behind him, Bill was free to work full-time for Smokey, which he did for three years, including some road work. Bill had the opportunity to work with Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Bond, The Collins Kids, the Kelley Family, Tex Ritter, Joe and Rosalie Mafis, Les “Carrot Top” Anderson, Wynn Steward, Freddy Hart, Stewart Hamblin, and Ray Price. It was a special honor for Bill to sing with Ray Price, a man whose singing he admired very much.
Bill worked in various music jobs through 1956 at which time he happened to be staying with some friends in Vallejo, California, where he saw a television program called “The California Hayride.” With much urging from his friends, Bill went to Stockton and auditioned for the show. He became a part of it that very day with the host band, Billy Jack Wills. Bill worked happily with Cottonseed Clark, Bill Ring, Joe Hobson, Bud Duncan, Howard Reading, Tiny Gibson, Richard Carr, and Billy Jack’s wife, Evelyn, of the McKinney Sisters. Two years later, the show went off the air leaving Bill musically unemployed again.
At loose ends, Bill went to Missouri, Kansas and then Oregon, pursuing various music opportunities. It was a letter from Billy Jack Wills that brought Bill to Sacramento where he finally settled. Billy Jack’s band at that time was made up of himself, Bud Duncan, Truitt Cunningham, Cotton Roberts, Loyd Jones, Bobby Reeves, and Evelyn Wills. Bill worked on the television show for quite a few years and was again thrilled to meet many well known artists.
When Billy Jack’s group disbanded, the Loyd Jones Western Swing Band was formed. Bill was a member of it, but for a time he also had his own bluegrass group, “Bill Pray and the Wild Bunch.” Bill played with Loyd Jones for many years and enjoyed the music very much.
Besides playing with Loyd’s band, and working for Teichert Construction Company for 21 years, Bill was part of the KRAK radio show that broadcasted from Tex’s Saloon every Thursday night for years. Bill said that he believed Perry Jones and the Southern Empire Band was the best group in the country at the time and that he loved working with them during broadcasts.
The voice and musical talent of Bill Pray has brought immeasurable happiness to countless music lovers throughout his long and distinguished career.
