Download | Duration: 00:08:17

Sarah Villasenor
Granddaughter of Will Ray,
Bakersfield Sound Legend

Folks, we have a very special treat today, featuring a rare find by the granddaughter of a very important person in the history of the Bakersfield Sound.

Dr BLT:  First of all, Sarah, I want to welcome you to my blog, Bakersfield Sound Underground where we bridge gaps between generations and genres and build bridges from the past to the present, and beyond, into the future.

Sarah, if you would be so kind, please tell us your full name and a little bit about yourself.  Then, then, if you would, please tell us a little bit of what you have to share with us today, perhaps a little background, including who, what, when and where this treasured conversation took place.

Sarah: Hello, Dr. BLT, and thanks for having me. My Name is Sarah (Moren) Villasenor.  I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA, as were my parents.  I am currently in an MA program at National University working on my degree in Counseling Psychology. 

Dr BLT: Now Sarah, you have direct ties to some very important Bakersfield Sound history.  Would you mind letting our visitors in on those rich ties?

Sarah:  Yes, of course.  My grandfather is featured in this radio podcast.  He is known as Mac Ray.  Both my maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated to Bakersfield when the Dust Bowl occurred in Oklahoma in the early 1940’s.  They were farmers that could no longer make a living there and set out to find the treasures of California.  When they got here, they didn’t find treasure, however, but a great deal of discrimination.  They lived in the Weedpatch Labor camps for most of their childhood. 

Dr. BLT: Aren't they also pictured in a book capturing that chapter in the history of the Bakersfield Sound?

Sarah:  Yes, there is also a book called Children of The Dustbowl, that features a picture of my maternal great grandmother and my great aunt outside of their tent home as they are going to her daily Dr. visit to be treated for Tuberculosis, which she ultimately succumbed to.

Dr. BLT: Would you mind telling us a little more about your grandparents?

Sarah:  I'd be happy to.  My maternal grandparents’ names are Willis Mac Ray and Dolores (Willliams) Ray.  They both attended what is now known as Bakersfield High School.  They met there when they were teenagers, and my grandfather had a crush on her and went to her home to ask her on a date one day, and she did not want to go.  She said he was a cowboy, wearing his cowboy boots and hat, and she did not like this at all.  Her parents made her go out with him because he was nice enough to ask her, and the rest is history.  My Grandfather eventually earned an Associates Degree in Communication from a school in Los Angeles, and he became a radio disc jockey because of his love for music. 

Dr. BLT: Didn't your grandfather also play with some of the greatest artists of that original Bakersfield Sound era? 

Sarah:  Yes, my grandfather played with many Bakersfield legends, such as Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Billy Mize, Jelly Sanders, Bill Woods, and Dub Williams. 

Dr. BLT: And wasn't your grandfather instrumental (no pun intended) in getting some of these superstars of the Bakersfield Sound started?

Sarah:  Yes, he was integral to getting these men recognized through the music he would play on his radio show called Kern County Country Time.  It was his way to be able to connect with his love of country music and to expose it to the world. 

Dr. BLT: Tell us more about his own music.

Sarah: He also played in many dance halls and “honky tonks” around town.  His instrument of choice was the upright bass and bass fiddle, but he was also a talented singer, songwriter, and guitar player. 

Dr. BLT: Now, if you would, please give visitors a bit of an orientation to what they are hearing in this podcast.

Sarah: This recording is that last time my grandfather ever hosted a radio show.  He co hosted the first show with Bill Woods and Dub Williams.  The second show he co hosted with Dub by himself.  The actual recording took place in the late 1980’s around 1987 or 1988.  Grandpa was very excited to have a chance to do what he loved best one last time.  This radio show not only consists of the music my grandfather loved, but it also includes great memories these three men share about their love of the early days of Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Sound.

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Sarah sang on this recording, prior to my knowledge of her Bakersfield Sound royalty status.  This is from the one-song psychobilly soundtrack to a multimedia "psychodrama" student project:

I am Schizophrenia 
The Axes Five
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2009

For more information on this, her recording debut, visit, the "I am Schizophrenia" blog at:
Psychology Comes Alive