BEHIND THE CLIMB BY KARA HUMPHREY
TEXARKANA MONTHLY
I magine two young boys sitting in their bedroom with a talented mother sharing her love of music, or hanging out with their dad as he played bass guitar. These are the sweet, movie-script moments we would love to believe are the beautiful beginnings of every successful musician. For the Wray brothers, it was moments just like this which became the deeply cherished memories of an upbringing destined to launch them both into incredible careers on stages across the world. “There was always music at our house,” said Scotty Wray. “My mother showed me four or five chords and I just kind of took it from there.” It was those four or five chords and the determination he witnessed in his father as he taught himself to play his guitar that became the foundation of an incredible journey for this talented singer, songwriter and musician. Scotty’s mother, Lois Wray, was a musician in the 1950s who served as an opening act for multiple Sun Records’ artists. “She and my Uncle Dub and Aunt Becky, did a few shows around the area,” Scotty said. They even “played a couple of shows with Elvis. [She] said she was ‘scared of him.’ However, she said Scotty Moore was really nice to them.” Scotty Moore formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954 and they became the band behind Elvis, touring with him between 1954 and 1968. The kindness of Moore must have left a lasting impression on Scotty’s mom, who would later honor that kindness by naming her son after him. “She was a really great country singer,” Scotty said. “[She] probably should have been famous. She was as good as it gets, reminiscent of Connie Smith. Just goes to show that there is a lot more to being a singing star than talent. [It] takes some luck too!”
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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