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Ray's Autobiography - Part 4
When school started that fall I enrolled in Miami Edison like I had promised, but there was one stumbling block. I had to walk right by a guitar shop on the way to school with all those neat looking Fender and Gibson guitars in the window. After school I would stop at the store and sit and play until they closed. I didn't have a guitar of my own. I always practiced on Bobby’s or my Mom’s Gibson ES-125.

The reason the guy who owned the store let me sit there and play was that I told him that Mom was getting ready to buy me a guitar and I needed to try them all to see which one I liked the best. I was failing horribly in school; all I could think of was guitar.

Tex had just hired a new guitar player in the band, and he was an excellent guitar player. His name was Chuck Ramsy. Chuck started teaching me new finger positions to train my little finger. It was the breakthrough I was looking for!

I started to skip school to practice. After twenty days of skipping school I got caught, and Mom just threw up her hands.

She said, “Son, if you at least finish the tenth grade we will buy you a guitar.”

But she knew I couldn't walk past that music store without forgetting all about school. So she hired a tutor, and I passed the tenth grade.
I was 15 when I ran away from Big Momma's to join Mom and Tex in Miami
That was the end of school for me. We started working on a bunch of songs and comedy skits and went back on the road. Tex found an agent, Johnny Robertson, in Los Angeles who said he would try us for some small jobs in Nevada.

The first was gig was in Jackpot, Nevada, at Cactus Pete’s for two weeks, then Ely for two weeks, and then Elko for two Weeks.

Elko is where I met Jimmy Bryant and his best friend Tommy Page. Jimmy was working with the New Sons of the Pioneers. I saw Jimmy in the coffee shop and went over and said hello and he ask me to sit down and join him. I said no, that my Mom was fixing black-eyed peas, rice and cornbread for dinner and I didn't want to be late.

Jimmy said, “Son, I haven't had a good southern meal since I left Georgia. Do you think your Mom would mine if I came with you?”

My Mom's cooking got me a lot of free guitar lessons! Jimmy started calling me “My boy Ray” even when he signed his pictures. He was a great player and friend for years to come.