Ray Wylie Hubbard
The outlaw songwriter who penned 'Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother' and later crafted gritty, spiritually searching albums for grown-ups.
Born 1946 (age 80)·American country musician·Birthday: November 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Ray Wylie Hubbard's name is forever tied to the cosmic cowboy scene of 1970s Austin, Texas, though his journey there was circuitous. His early signature song, a raucous anthem popularized by Jerry Jeff Walker, typecast him as a party bard, a role that eventually left him creatively and personally adrift. A profound sobriety in the late 1980s sparked a remarkable second act. He re-emerged with a raw, stripped-down sound, his guitar playing deliberately dirtied up, and his songwriting matured into a unique blend of blues, folk, and darkly humorous storytelling. Albums like 'Loco Gringo's Lament' and 'Growl' explored themes of sin, redemption, and the artist's grind with a poet's eye and a philosopher's wit. He became a songwriter's songwriter, revered by a new generation of roots artists not for a past hit, but for the deep, authentic well of music he tapped into later in life.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Ray was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ray Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Ray's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Wrote the counterculture anthem 'Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother', a staple of the 1970s outlaw country movement.
- His 1992 album 'Loco Gringo's Lament' marked a critical rebirth and defined his mature, gritty musical philosophy.
- Inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.
- His song 'Snake Farm' became a late-career cult hit, celebrated for its bizarre and catchy storytelling.
Did You Know?
He learned his distinctive fingerpicking guitar style after sobering up, famously stating he had to 'learn how to play' in his 40s.
His son, Lucas Hubbard, is a guitarist who has played in his band.
He is a close friend and frequent collaborator of singer-songwriter Hayes Carll.
He narrated and appeared in the documentary 'The Other Side of the Mirror', about the 1970s Austin music scene.
“The days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, well, I have really good days.”
