Collin Raye - Early Years

Early Years

Floyd Elliott Wray was born in De Queen, Arkansas on August 22, 1960. His mother, Lois Wray, was a local musician; in the 1950s, she served as an opening act for several Sun Records artists, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Later, she became a solo musician in her own right; she would occasionally bring both Floyd and his brother Scott onstage to sing harmony vocals. By the 1980s, the two brothers began a country-rock band called the Wray Brothers Band, in which Collin assumed the stage name Bubba Wray. The Wray Brothers Band performed primarily in the state of Texas, and later in Reno, Nevada, eventually releasing singles on independent labels. By 1986, the band (which had shortened its name to The Wrays) signed to Mercury Records, releasing four singles. After the singles performed poorly on the charts, The Wrays disbanded.

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