Collin Raye: Catholic Convert

Roma locuta est

There is a certain sense in which music has the power to define various periods in one’s life.  It will come as no surprise to readers that the last decade or so of my life has been shaped by a deliberate immersion into classical and sacred music.  Just last night I gave a talk at my parish on proofs for the existence of God, and my favorite of all time come from Dr. Peter Kreeft:  the “Argument from Beauty.”  It is as concise as humanly possible: there is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and therefore there is a God.  The extraordinary thing about this proof is ... you either get it or you don’t, but there is no more to say.  Along with many others, this is precisely how I experience Bach, be it the Goldberg variations, the violin partitas, or the Brandenburg Concertos.

What might surprise readers, save for those that have known me longer than a decade, is that the “musical shape” of my life in high school and college was largely defined by country music.  And even now, I find a certain nostalgia when I put on “The Dance” by Garth Brooks, “I Swear” by John Michael Montgomery, or “Love, Me” by Collin Raye.  Yes it is true, I was, always have been, and always will be a sucker for the love ballad.  This is more than likely what brought me to country music in the first place: a love for lyric, cheesy or otherwise.  I can still remember my good friend Mark telling me as a sophomore, “There are no better lyrics than in country music.”  Whether or not George Strait’s “The Chair” can rival Tantum Ergoremains a question, but then again, perhaps this is a matter of apples and oranges.

All of this provides a completely unnecessary backdrop for the current post, but the reader will forgive me for my nostalgic return to my days, be they “glory” or not-so-much, of high school.  I have spent the better part of the morning listening to Collin Raye’s Greatest Hits.  Yet it was not a moment of “Ain’t it funny how a melody can bring back a memory” (which is actually a Clint Black song) that served as the impetus for listening to Mr. Raye’s top songs.  Rather, it was an article I read about “What he’s doin’ now” (note the reference to Garth Brooks).

It seems, unbeknownst to me, that Collin Raye is a Catholic convert, coming into the Church at the age of 23.  Those familiar with his music will not be surprised to hear that he is Christian. He did, after all, sing songs such as “What if Jesus Comes Back Like That?” and “The Eleventh Commandment.”  Yet somehow news of his Catholicism escaped me all these years.  Collin was raised in a Baptist Church, but while playing in Oregon met a couple who would show up at many of his shows.  The wife of the couple wore a crucifix around her neck, and at that time Collin felt like the doctrine by which he was raised was lacking something.  After talking with the couple, he asked if he could go to Mass with them, and according the Collin, that was enough.  He experienced a heavy peace and reverence.  After that, in his own words, he became a very “apt pupil” and subsequently found conversion very easy.  In his own conversion story, his cites the writings of Scott Hahn and an appreciation for finding the doctrine of the Catholic Church highly biblically.  Particularly important for his conversion was the Real Presence, something he has “never doubted.”

However, the story does not end with his conversion.  It turns out that Collin released a new album in November, an album called His Love Remains.  The album is packed full of Catholic music, including “Ave Maria,” “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You,” and “Amazing Grace.”

Yet the fact of the new collection pales in comparison to the story behind it.  From Raye’s own website,

“When you hear the name Collin Raye, you think of smooth, flawless vocals and chances are you probably immediately flash back to the 90's when Collin ruled country music radio with songs like "Little Rock", "That's My Story", "I Think About You", "Little Red Rodeo" and his sentimental hit, "Love Me". He's had  a total of 16 #1 hits, so you would assume he's found where he needs to be and is satisfied with his success. Sadly, it took the illness of his granddaughter, Haley, and her death at the early age of 10 years old in April 2010, to confirm for Collin exactly where his music belongs, where he's most comfortable and to bring him to the place his heart now resides, with the Lord and with Christian music. He has no plans to return to country music as a primary market and this project will musically explain why.”

With the impetus to look into his story provided by a brief advertisement on the back of the New Ignatius Press catalog, I started digging and reading, and I was astounded ... gloriously astounded ... by what I found.  (For those that already knew all of this, I profoundly apologize ... as I said, it amazes me that this was able to escape my attention all these years.

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