by Brenda L.
Madden
 “And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his
purpose” - Romans 8:28 (NIV).
Collin Raye's new CD entitled His Love Remains is
a shining example of that scripture - having
experienced the pain of watching his
granddaughter, Haley Marie Bell, struggle with an
undiagnosed neurological disease for over six
years until her death in 2010 put Collin on a
faith-testing journey and yet despite his
unanswered prayers, Collin's faith is stronger
now than ever.
 With each passing hour, day and
year, Collin and his family continually prayed
for Haley - asking for every-thing from total
healing to pleas that the pneumonia would not
come back, but to no avail. Yet, even though the
battle was lost in this life, Collin came to
realize that the final victory was still theirs,
because for the time that Haley was on this earth
- they had a very special angel in their midst.
From that pain came a renewed faith that led
Collin to record the inspirational project he had
wanted to do for over 20 years. The CD, His Love
Remains, is dedicated to Haley. Collin comments,
“She definitely inspired me not just to make
this record but to devote whatever time I have
left on this earth to doing God's will. I just
want to do things that make Him happy and make
her happy. And I know she's there watching and so
therefore, it was very easy to have her as my
inspiration. When I was recording actually doing
the vocals, I had my rosary draped around the
lyrics and a picture of her on a sheet, which
kept me focused. I just wanted to remember
everything that I was recording was dedicated to
God and to her. I think you can feel that as you
listen to it. It was an emotional record for me
in a really good way, almost therapeutic.”
The end result is a personal testament to faith
and family with Collin's signature
heart-wrenching vocals.
For this labor of love, Collin picked some of his
favorite hymns from the obvious to the obscure
including “How Great Thou Art,”
“Amazing Grace” and “I Am The
Bread Of Life.” However, this collection
also includes “Undefeated” written with
his daughter as well as a remake of his country
hit, “Love Remains.”
While this
is Collin's first inspirational project, looking
back through his music, Collin has recorded
numerous “message” songs. His first
single, “Love Me,” propelled him into
the limelight. When asked about that first album,
he remembers, “We were looking for hit
records, period…but after “Love
Me,” when I saw the impact of what a song
could do for people…and when I realized that
I could be responsible, or at least indirectly
responsible, for recording a piece of music that
could help people and help them in the struggles
of their life…from that point forward I was
on a mission…My goal was always to record
songs that were going to leave a mark and be
remembered.”
And he accomplished that goal many times over.
After “Love Me,” he also released songs
like “Little Rock,” “In This
Life,” “Not That Different,” and
“I Think About You” - just to mention a
few. While those songs continue to touch
listeners every day, Collin is finding new ways
to make a difference. Recently named as the
National Spokesperson for the Life & Hope
Network, an organization founded by Terri
Schiavo's family, Collin is bringing awareness
about the fundamental human right to life and is
calling people to political action. Boldly
standing with Terri's family, he is committed and
passionate about the message - this is not a
campaign for his own publicity - in his heart and
soul he believes that everyone has a right to
life and doesn't want anyone else to go through
what Terri and her family did several years ago.
With a successful country music career, which
includes 16 #1 hits, it would be easy to sit back
and rest on past success, but when speaking with
him, it is obvious that is not his plan. Collin
Raye is even more passionate about the music and
the message than ever before…with the
release of His Love Remains and a new book on the
horizon…it is obvious that Haley is smiling.
You Can Buy
Collin Raye CD at:
WWW.COLLINRAYE.COM
WWW.HISLOVEREMAINS.COM
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