Eddy Raven

1988-1991: Universal and Capitol In 1988, producer Jimmy Bowen founded the independent country music label Universal Records and signed Raven. While the editors of The Encyclopedia of Country Music stated that Raven chose to end his contract with RCA over poor record sales, Raven himself said at the time that Bowen had recruited him for the then-new label after determining that his musical style would fit well among the other artists he had signed. His initial release for the label was a cover of Shakin' Stevens' "In a Letter to You", also written by Dennis Linde. Raven said of the album's sound that he wanted to add influences of Latin and Caribbean music to his sound, noting in particular the inclusion of steel drums and comparing "Zydeco Lady" to the sound of Miami Sound Machine. "In a Letter to You" was the first number-one single for the Universal label, achieving that position on Billboard Hot Country Songs,

In December 1989, Bowen closed the Universal label to become president of Capitol Records' Nashville division, to which Raven and several other former Universal artists were transferred. Following this transfer, Capitol would issue three more singles from Temporary Sanity. First was "Sooner or Later", which was co-written by husband-and-wife team Bill LaBounty and Beckie Foster, and previously cut by The Forester Sisters on their album You Again. Both this song and follow-up "Island" placed within the top ten of Hot Country Songs in 1990, but "Zydeco Lady" became his first single since 1979 not to reach top 40 on that chart. Billboard published a positive review of "Sooner or Later" which described it as a "pounding, rollicking number" that "should propel him back to those same chart heights".

Another album for Capitol Nashville, Right for the Flight, followed in 1991. It accounted for two singles: "Rock Me in the Rhythm of Your Love" (co-written by Robert Earl Keen The Ottawa Citizen writer Susan Beyer reviewed the album with favor, noting that it continued to display his Cajun music influences, while considering the latter half of the album "weightier" and more upbeat than the first half. Following the poor chart performance of the album's singles, Raven was dropped from Capitol's roster in September 1991.

1994-present: Independent Raven collaborated with Jo-El Sonnier on the 1996 album Cookin' Cajun. alt=Cajun musician Jo-El Sonnier singing while playing an accordion. His next album, Wild Eyed and Crazy, was released on Intersound Records in 1994. The book MusicHound Country described this album as "an album of reworked hits that sound pretty much like they did originally, supplemented by new, decidedly lackluster material." This was followed by Cookin' Cajun, a collaboration with fellow Cajun country musician Jo-El Sonnier which was issued in 1996.

While he continued to record independently, Capitol Records retained the rights to works he had recorded under their tenure. This culminated in the 1997 compilation 20 Favorites, consisting of singles, album cuts, and previously unreleased content. The compilation included two singles: "Johnny's Got a Pistol" and "Somebody's Tearin' the Flag", the latter of which was previously found on Right for the Flight. Also in 1997, The Bellamy Brothers featured both Raven and Sonnier on their single "Catahoula".

In 2001, Raven released Living in Black & White on the independent RMG Records. The album was produced by Ron Chancey, and contributing writers included Frank J, Myers, Earl Thomas Conley, and Lonestar lead vocalist Richie McDonald. One of the songs on the album, "Coldest Fire", was a song that Raven had begun writing in 1987 at the encouragement of Gant, but found himself unable to finish for a long period following Gant's death that same year. One single from the album, "Cowboys Don't Cry", charted at number 60 on Hot Country Songs. Raven also co-wrote two songs on Toby Keith's 2011 album Clancy's Tavern, and made a cameo appearance at one of Keith's concerts in July 2017. In 2018, Raven released a bluegrass album called All Grassed Up, which features a mix of new songs and re-recordings of existing material, with accompaniment from the bluegrass band Carolina Road.

Musical styles Raven's musical style is defined largely by his strong influence of Cajun music, along with his lyric-driven songs and distinct vocal delivery. According to Raven, he drew musical influence from his father, who largely listened to country music, but he also drew influence from the prominence of Cajun music in his native Louisiana. Thomas Goldsmith in The Encyclopedia of Country Music wrote that Raven's style was defined by "direct, soulful singing, skillful songwriting, and Cajun heritage." Joe Edwards of the Associated Press said that Raven "has a deep, masculine voice that pours out incisive songs in a style he describes as 'Cajun reggae, Cajun Caribbean, electric Cajun.'" Similarly, Susan Beyer wrote in a review of Right for the Flight that "is voice has a soulful edge, with a nice strip of grit right in the middle" and said that "instead of whomping us from the first beats with accordions and Cajun calls, he finds the delicacy in the Cajun legacy." Two cuts from Eyes were later recorded by other artists: Merle Haggard covered "Dealin' with the Devil" on his 1981 live album Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium, and Waylon Jennings covered "Sweet Mother Texas" on his 1986 album of the same name. Raven later said that the success of The Oak Ridge Boys cut was a factor in his choosing to resume his career after his contract with Elektra ended.

Discography

Studio albums That Cajun Country Sound (1973) This Is Eddy Raven (1976) Eyes (1980) Desperate Dreams (1981) I Could Use Another You (1984) Love and Other Hard Times (1985) Right Hand Man (1986) Temporary Sanity (1989) Right for the Flight (1991) Wild Eyed and Crazy (1994) Cookin' Cajun (with Jo-El Sonnier) (1996) Living in Black and White (2001) All Grassed Up (2018)

Billboard number-one hits "I Got Mexico" (1 week, 1984) "Shine, Shine, Shine" (1 week, 1987) "I'm Gonna Get You" (1 week, 1988) "Joe Knows How to Live" (1 week, 1988) "In a Letter to You" (1 week, 1989) "Bayou Boys" (1 week, 1989)