SINGER RAYEGIVES HIS FANS DIFFERENT COUNTRY

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Collin Raye is the country and western singer his female fans probably wish their husband or boyfriend was more like.

Raye doesn't pretend to be an angel (the hilarious "That's My Story") and has a loud and raucous side ("My Kind of Girl"). But his songs, a number of which were written by women, also demonstrate a tenderness and humanity ("Not That Different") few other male singers easily reveal. He makes statements about issues -- child abuse ("The Eleventh Commandment") and sexism ("I Think About You") -- that rarely concern country songwriters.

Collin Raye has been credited with changing the face of country music. He put a lot of smiles on faces Thursday night at the Sikeston Jaycees Bootheel Rodeo.

Brawny voice

With a brawny tenor voice every bit as distinctive as Don Henley's or Vince Gill's, Raye athletically strode the stage at the rodeo grounds. He fronted a superb six-piece band that sounded amazingly good despite playing outdoors. His fans accompanied him on many of the choruses, and couples danced in the bleachers.

The grandstand was filled to about two-thirds the rodeo grounds capacity of 11,000 Thursday night. Lonestar performed Friday night. The rodeo will conclude tonight with the final competitive events and a performance by Ty Herndon.

Raye has said that performing has become more of a calling than a career for him. Before Raye took the stage, a recording that included snippets of JFK's famous inaugural address, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and Neil Armstrong's words as he stepped on the moon was followed by the singer's own rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star." This is country and western that reaches for more than whiskey and wild women.

Chorus on tombstones

Raye's "In This Life" and "Love, Me" are lovely songs about faithful love that fans have taken to heart. He didn't even have to sing the chorus of the touching "Love, Me," a song whose chorus reportedly as been inscribed on tombstones. The audience sang the final song of the night to him.

Many of Raye's songs are like short stories told in the third person. "Here in Little Rock," one of his biggest hits, is a heart-wrenching confession of someone whose excesses have cost him the woman he loves.

Raye sang a wonderful hurting song ("Someone You Used to Know") and in "That Was a River" tried to make someone he loves understand the rivers that led to her.

The concert relied perhaps too heavily on short medleys to make sure everyone got to hear their favorite song among his many hits, but Raye sang the full version of his new single, "Ain't Nobody Gonna Take That From Me," a reminiscence about the things that matter.