Frank Ray’s Good For The Soul EP is out. The five-track project is a refreshing throwback to the iconic 90s country sounds that fans still love today, albeit with Ray’s own, unique spin.

“It’s in the title. It’s good for the soul,” Ray tells Everything Nash, speaking of the record. “It’s music that hopefully brings a positive impact to people’s lives. There are songs on there that pay tribute to faith, songs on there that pay tribute to law enforcement, military. There’s honky-tonk and barn-burning songs on there. There’s radio hits. I mean, you name it. There’s breakup songs. All the things that hopefully help bring people to a point of comfort and solace, and hopefully can revert back to some specific memory in time, whatever it is. The whole reason why we all listen to music is to feel something good.”

Frank Ray Leaves a Career in Law Enforcement to Become a Country Music Singer

It’s fitting that Ray honors law enforcement on a song, “Hard To Be A Hero” on Good For The Soul, since he is a former police officer. Ray spent ten years working in law enforcement, before taking the jump to focus on music full-time.

“Country music has always been the goal for me,” Ray acknowledges. “This is what I wanted to do since I was in diapers. So that was always a thing. But as life happens, you start realizing … most creatives always feel like there’s this window of opportunity, and then it just kind of starts shrinking little by little. I hit 30, and I was like, ‘Okay, I think that time has passed.’ But then right around that time, Chris Stapleton surfaced, and I listened.”

If not for Chris Stapleton‘s debut single, Ray may have never followed his heart and pursued his passion.

“I remember I was on patrol on graveyards listening to ‘What Are You Listening To?'” Ray recalls. “I looked him up and I was like, ‘This guy’s incredible.’ Then you look at his background and how long he’s been doing it. And then you start seeing a pattern emerge, where just so many artists that you think are an overnight success have been doing it for ten, 15 years.  I was like, ‘Okay, well, I still got some time.’ So that really had a positive impact on me, and how I viewed my career and my shelf life.”

Ray was part of a band, Border Avenue, which won a Battle of the Bands contest, giving them the opportunity to open for Keith Urban. For Ray, it gave him a taste of what was possible if he made music his career. For a while he did both jobs, writing and performing, and getting played on country radio. But eventually, Ray needed to make a choice.

“Shortly after that, I was like, ‘Man, I cannot do both of these,’” Ray recounts. “’I can’t have one foot in, one foot out.’ And so I made a decision to quit my job in law enforcement. And, I just didn’t look back.”

Frank Ray’s Duet With Tracy Lawrence On ‘Good For The Soul’

Good For The Soul includes a duet with Tracy Lawrence, on the title track.

“Tracy and I first met at the Mission: Possible thing that he does,” Ray shares. “He’s a huge humanitarian. He does the Turkey Fry. It’s an incredible project, where he feeds several members in the middle Tennessee area, different counties, and they provide Thanksgiving meals for those that are less fortunate. And so that’s where I first met him. And talk about a first impression. Mind you, put the music aside. He’s just a great person. He’s out there getting his hands dirty, talking to everybody. He’s like the mayor, I swear. And so we just really hit it off there. And then, shortly after, I went on his podcast.

“And  then he gave me his phone number, and I was like, ‘Whoa, now we’re friends. Are we friends?'” he adds with a laugh. “It was just a really cool thing.”

Find music and tour dates at FrankRayMusic.com.