American Songwriter: An interview with Cathy Ray

 

American Songwriter: An interview with Cathy Ray

by Gina McKnight

No Duplication Without Permission

Archived From the April 2025 Issue of Florida Equine Athlete www.floridaequineathlete.com

Meet award-winning American songwriter, Cathy Ray. An accomplished songwriter and music producer, Cathy grew up on a piano stool by her mother’s side, then gradually learned to play, sing, harmonize, and write music. She is a former pastor of the Cowboys and Truckers Church and is a distinguished member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. “Whether she’s crafting a deeply touching melody, delivering a stirring sermon, or offering life-changing advice, Cathy Ray’s influence is both wide-reaching and deeply impactful.”

Welcome, Cathy!

GM: Congratulations on your latest award! How does it feel to be recognized in the world of Christian music? Did you ever imagine you'd reach this level of success when you were running the Cowboys and Truckers Church?

CR: Not Really! It’s quite exciting! While pastoring, I used overhead videos with horses and props that would be appropriate for cowboys, truckers, and kids! I used big-mouth puppets with cowboy hats for kids and adults!  I led praise and worship from the keyboard which kept me singing and writing songs. Cowboy Church was inspired by my daughter, who trained a wild horse, Raven, now a kid’s therapy horse in Colorado.      

I never realistically thought about songwriting for Nashville. Certainly not winning an award in the first few months of joining Nashville Songwriters. You can’t just show up like Loretta Lynn at the Grand Ole Opry! Lol! You pay your dues by preparing, choose an organization that pays royalties, learn Industry “music language,” be flexible to changing your lyrics, have a mentor and read a lot of how-to books! Now semi-retired, I’m not full-time as a Cowboy Pastor but I’ve written 60 songs that filled my notebook since 1990, so I decided to contact Nashville Songwriters in 2024 and we scheduled an hour interview via Zoom about my plans and for the American people who literally begged me, in tears, to get my patriotic song to America.

GM: What inspires your songwriting, and is there a particular moment or story that stands out as a catalyst for one of your hits?

CR: First, I wrote United We Stand America on the back of a napkin ten years before 9/11/2001 and put it in my song notebook. That song has kept pulling me into the limelight continuously, as it was certainly God inspired. A CD needed to be made as others wanted to purchase the song, so I wrote more patriotic material to create music for Veterans, 1^st Responders, Military, and their families to create a Patriotic CD titled: United We Stand America, The Show. My largest personal event was singing at Denver Stadium for 7,500 people inside with 6,000 outside, to thunderous applause and a standing ovation!  The response was so huge, I needed a hug when I finished singing! I’m thankful I married a man who had been a professional drummer! It probably takes a musician to understand, encourage and help another musician.     

The biggest event creating initial buzz happened when the General Manager of KJCT-TV8 asked to create a TV video to go with my song. The Manager wanted the station to play their video and use my song and vocals to sign-off the station for our community. The deal was: I could use their video as my background when I performed and they could use my song in their video to sign-off the TV Station. We had just gone to war in Iraq in 2003 and on the Western Slope of Colorado we had a large community of Veterans who lived there. I agreed. Their video is so beautiful and just recently, I was given complete authority to use the full video as I wanted too.

When the Manager’s News Crew saw their TV made video, even though they were hard-bitten news journalist who saw accidents and train wrecks, there was not a dry eye in the station as they watched the finished video for United We Stand America © 2002. The station asked if they could sign-off the station at night with the video. They removed the National Anthem and their station signed-off with my song for KJCT-TV8 and played that video for six months as our military was in Iraq.

Valentine’s Day last year, I took a BIG LEAP for me and became a real Nashville Songwriter. As a new NSAI member, they have hundreds of Chapters around the world. I joined the ATL Christian Chapter to have their members review my songs, and for me, I wanted to hear their songwriter’s work. Some were on location and I was via Zoom. I just fell in love with the work that my NSAI chapter was creating!

September 2024, I also joined NSAI - NYC Chapter. Standing Proud was a song I wanted NYC to finally experience. I received a phone call in 2002 to ask me to write a song for iaff.org (My family was seated with NYC families, up front, at that huge memorial) and my song Standing Proud was dedicated in Honor of the Fallen Firefighters on the Memorial Wall and the grieving firefighters’ families. Firefighters (USA & Canada) were included but ‘front and center’ they rang the bell and called out each name for over 400 NYC firefighters lost in the Twin Towers on 09/11/2001. I had to share with the NYC Songwriters my song, so they would know that all over America, we were hurting with those who fell that day. 

May 30, 2024, there was a Contest for Nashville Songwriter’s Chapters Worldwide.  I submitted United We Stand America (the video is on my website). Nashville Songwriters’ Contest had us submit one song and I tied with two other songwriters with United We Stand America which won that contest. Facilitators in Atlanta sent all three songs to our Nashville Office for a final decision on which would win the national contest in May. They had never had a three-way tie before.

I was notified by Nashville on May 30, 2024, in a congratulatory email that I was the winner for our ATL Christian Chapter. I was incredibly excited and truly humbled.

GM: Running a church for cowboys and truckers sounds like the plot of a movie. What was the most memorable sermon you ever delivered, and did it involve any unexpected four-legged congregants?

CR: That would have been perfection! I sure wanted to involve horses. (My Wish List remains to have a ranch donated to our 501c3 and resume having Cowboy Church, awesome music, and horses nearby!) Otherwise, I played overhead video clips of horses running wild, working with prisoners, in a pasture or round -ups.

My sermons often included scriptures of horses with riders coming to earth from Heaven, sent to survey the earth and report back to Heaven what’s was going on! Zechariah 1:8-11; Scripture says, one day, Jesus will return riding His White Horse with an Army of Saints on horseback from Heaven to set up His Earthly Reign! Revelation 19:11-16. Horses symbolize strength and in mighty forces war horses are fearless! Jesus rides horses and He will return again ON HIS HORSE! Wow!

My husband and I attended a Cowboy Church each Sunday evening with a personal pastor who preached sermons on horseback, riding in the ring. If you wanted to be baptized, there was a large, galvanized tub for baptisms at the end of the service and we all gathered around to sing! What a great way to learn about Christ and just be comfy in your jeans, boots, and cowboy hats! I’d even visit a college campus or a beach if I could afford it. So if someone provided a horse and the electronic ability, or set up video and an 88 key keyboard, you can contact me by email on my website.

GM: With everything going on in the world today, what message do you think is most important for people to hear in your music right now?

CR: My Life Of Christ CD I hope to get uploaded for 2025 Easter Services. Using Bible scripture, between my songs and overhead pics, you’d have a 45 minute total Easter program. My songs could end with an invitation of John 3:16, 17 NKJV  ¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life.  ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  Saved means: The gift of Eternal Life In Heaven. Many have no idea their spirit and soul lives forever only the body of flesh dies. That choice is ours alone to ask forgiveness and accept the free gift from Jesus.

GM: Do you have any uplifting stories from your time as a pastor that you'd like to share?

CR: Yes! One Sunday, I gave Communion, when a first grade boy, Noah, came up for communion with his Mom. We prayed and I took a silver goblet with grape juice and he dipped his broken bread into the goblet to “Do this to remember Jesus Christ’s death until He comes.” On Monday, Noah’s Mom went to have school lunch with him and Noah said his little blessing and took his biscuit and broke it and dipped it into his grape juice for lunch. When his Mom asked why he was doing that, he said, “I’m doing what Pastor Cathy taught me.” That’s so precious! Teach your Children well.     

GM: Looking forward, what are your thoughts on the future of Christian music? Do you see any trends emerging that excite or concern you?  

CR: There are too many copycat, “cookie cutter” lyrics seemingly pulled out of a hat to fit together. Last year, I strongly suggested to NSAI Atlanta Christian Chapter, that we need anointed worship music, the kind you write on your knees!  I will say, I love the song God’s Country!  As Christian Songwriters, our group is in a unique position to change the world with awesome worship music! It all starts with a song! Let’s do this! If you have a great story for a song, let me know by email.  

I would ask you all to say a prayer for worship songwriters to bring music that gives true praise to God to Glorify Him with our worship! Strobe lights are ok, fun for teens, but if we’re trying to see which team can worship loudest or have the biggest stage production, let’s consider an experience to have a chance to hear God whisper? We need a blend of old and new with something for everyone! No generation gap. Hymns can be updated, not an old “clumpy” sound of music, just smooth it out.   

GM: How do you balance your faith with the pressures and demands of the music industry? Any tips for aspiring Christian artists?

CR: Faith is my great stronghold. If God says it in His Word, I believe it. Period. However, songwriting is not that easy to balance. I try to get alone and start with singing anointed worship songs that make me cry. I say a prayer or read a devotion and commit all my songwriting to God.

I turn on a tape recorder to listen to how it sounds: Too Harsh? Too loud or soft and whispery? Any good song with spirited music commands a spirit reaction. Do you feel like crying or feel so joyful you could sing to the world? That’s the one you bring to worship. Easy to sing. Easy to take home in your heart. Do we worship God with our best praise or just sing for other people?

Do your hands play keyboard or guitar with anointed music? Do I feel God’s presence or is it just a contest? I’m often told my hands as well as my voice are anointed. That’s where prayer before writing is needed. Ask God to direct you to encourage every listener.

Finally, and very important, can the congregation sing it? If only the practiced team can sing it, I won’t use it! We worship as one. As I wrote the Life Of Christ CD story in song, I used scripture stories through my entire CD lyrics from the Word of God. It moves people to be “there in their mind’s eye” seeing the life of Jesus either in your anointed Sunrise, Palm or Easter Presentation; have someone add scriptures between songs, pictures on the overhead and a man as Jesus at the end.      

GM: What role do you think music plays in bringing communities together, especially in challenging times like these?

CR: We all associate music with special occasions in our lives. Music is a Universal language. There is coming, a “Jesus Movement” worldwide, in the very near future!  Songwriters get ready to write powerful, precious songs that people from every nation can sing, as they change to a better life that fills the emptiness in their soul as they are comforted. Jesus has a purpose for us. Christ takes someone ordinary and makes them extraordinary! Music is a gift we use to bring together like-minded singers and players to cover every corner on Earth.  

GM: Finally, if you could give a piece of advice to your younger self, back when you were just starting out as both a pastor and a songwriter, what would it be

CR: Prepare for your promotion, thirty minutes a day to work on your passion. Write notes, research, sing or play if you’re into music. Make room for your “spirit-man” to grow stronger and let your hidden talents shine.  Know your subject or story to tell.

Respect and be kind to one another in the process and believe with God, all things are possible! Let a wave of comfort overflow you so others can sing with you! Be soothing, try: Amazing Grace or I’ll Fly Away! Now, make it really beautiful! Our kids need to know these songs. Let’s make sure we create a beautiful blend for everyone. Music should be healing medicine. Worship is not a performance, true worship is life changing! Be excellent in all that you do! Now, go develop your talent!

Connect with Cathy Ray…

www.cathyray.com

Cathy would like to add a “big shout to NC Matheny for encouragement and support” www.ncmatheny.com.