THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406030070
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: B13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
The first two are wrestlers. Daddy - Collin Raye - sings such successful songs as ``Love Me'' ``In This Life'' ``That's My Story'' and ``Little Rock.''
{REST} Raye, Harborfest's main country attraction, will perform those, and more, on the World Trade Stage on Sunday.
The Texarkana native - the Texas side, of course - is happy to be out in the fresh air, away from the bar scene.
``I'm glad to get out of honky tonks,'' he said, during a phone interview from Nashville. ``They're nice in a way - I love 'em, but it's nicer to work with a better-quality sound system.
``I don't mean to paint a bad picture of the casino scene. It's good money and a clean atmosphere,'' Raye said, ``but four hours a night, six days a week takes the heart and soul out of music.''
His voice is country but with a touch of rock.
``Little Rock,'' Raye's current hit, his eighth consecutive Top 10 hit, is a well-told piece about the joy of sobriety.
His major joys are his children - Jacob, who was born with cerebral palsy and 11-year-old Brittany. Both appeared in his ``Love Me'' video.
``My kids are my interest, my hobby,'' said Raye, whose divorce from their mom is so friendly he stays with her when he's off the road.
Sometimes, when he is off the road he is in a seat in a boxing arena.
Raye and his singing hero, Waylon Jennings, share the same hero - Muhammad Ali.
``He and Waylon are personal friends,'' Raye said, adding that he realizes he will be singing in Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whittaker country. ``He's a great one.''
The singer, who is into weightlifting and aerobics, and says he would not be afraid to get into a boxing ring himself - is also a Dallas Cowboy enthusiast and has sung the national anthem for them a few times.
Raye helps with Special Olympics events, contributes heavily to Catholic Relief Services, Boys Town, the Christian Appalachian Project, and is national director of the Emily Harrison Foundation to benefit children with head injuries.
His musical choices are personal, too.
``I've got to relate to a song; I've got to like the message. I've passed on a lot of great songs because I can't justify singing them,'' Raye said. ``Once the album is done I have to live with it, and I have to perform the songs.''
So far, so good. His first two albums are expected to go platinum. Album three, ``extremes,'' is expected to yield five or six hit singles.
A hit television show was almost on his schedule.
``I flew to L.A. January 2 to read for `Melrose Place,' '' Raye said. ``The earthquake hit that night.''
His schedule prevented him from going before the camera a few days later, ``but,'' he said, ``I'm working on going back. And there are a couple of other shows we're talking about doing.'' by CNB