Jeff Ray is a rock/country singer and songwriter from Ripley, West Virginia who’s been playing music since the age of 14. As a tireless advocate for awareness about mental illness and suicide prevention, Jeff released “Somebody’s Cryin” off of his latest album Our Little Town as a tribute to his friend James who committed suicide, as well as a way to raise awareness for the cause.
“Somebody’s Cryin” is meant to reach out and provide positivity and hope for those that find themselves in similar circumstances. James’ family gave Jeff their blessing to create the single along with the video that shares a powerful story.
After watching the heartfelt video, Jeff hopes to reach those in need, or those that might know someone who needs help.
Background story:
Jeff started his music career by moving to Los Angeles, where he thought music career would flourish, but he could never find the right people to be in his band. He ended up moving back to West Virginia in July of 1996 where he formed the band Mo’ Bigley with their old friends, Anders Bush, Terry McGee, and James Greathouse.
According to Jeff, “Mo’ Bigley is probably my favorite band I’ve ever played in. We had a magical chemistry and sense of brotherhood”, about his former band. Many of the songs Jeff still plays today were born during the Mo’ Bigley days.
Fast forwarding to Spring of 2011, Jeff got the call to play for Nashville recording artist Troy Olsen who had two country top 40 hits including “Summer Thing” and “Good Hands”. He then got to play for Locash Cowboys who co-wrote Keith Urban’s “You Gonna Fly” and Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah.” After touring with the Locash Cowboys, Jeff began his solo career.
Check out the video for “Somebody’s Cryin” below:
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Jeff Ray:
https://www.jeffraylive.com
https://jeffray1.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/jeffraylive/