Susan Raye
born 8th October 1944, Eugene, Oregon, USA. In 1961, with no personal thoughts of being a country singer, she found her mother had entered her in a talent show. She won and was soon singing and working as a disc jockey on local radio. By the mid-60s, she was a regular on the Portland television show Hoedown, where she was seen by Buck Owens’ manager. Between 1968 and 1976, she worked with Owens, became a Capitol Records recording artist in her own right and was a regular performer on the top television show Hee Haw, which Owens co-hosted. Between 1970 and 1977, she registered 21 solo country hits, including ‘I’ve Got A Happy Heart’ and her version of Kay Starr’s pop hit ‘Wheel Of Fortune’. During this time she also recorded duets with Owens, six of which charted, including a Top 10 with ‘The Great White Horse’. She retired for a time but reappeared in the country charts in 1986 with ‘I Just Can’t Take The Leaving Anymore’. Raye raised six children and then returned to college in the mid-80s to study psychology. She now works as a counsellor.