Legendary Texas Music Supporter Ray Hennig Dies at 91
(Dec. 16, 1928 – April 30, 2020)
May 1, 2020 —Ray
Hennig has passed away. His son, Steve Hennig, confirmed that his
father died Thursday in Austin, Texas of natural causes. He was 91 years
old, according to Joe Burris’ Facebook page.
Ray
Henning opened Heart of Texas Music in Waco in the early Sixties and an
Austin location followed in 1973. His Heart of Texas Music store on
South Lamar Boulevard in Austin closed in 2012. “I bought several
guitars and a couple amps from him,” says Texas born but Nashville-based
songwriter Noel McKay. “He was a wonderful, generous, colorful man.”
“For a long time, Ray’s was the only music business that believed in
musicians enough to give them credit and deals, and a professional
discount on equipment and strings,” says Diana Finlay Hendricks, author
of Delbert McClinton: One of the Fortunate Few. “There is a special place in Heaven for Ray with all-access passes to everything.”
Of
course, Henning was the one who sold Stevie Ray Vaughan his iconic
Number One Fender Stratocaster in 1974. The singular instrument had
previously belonged to hitmaking singer Christopher Cross and was
comprised of 1959 pickups, a 1962 guitar neck and a 1963 body with a
“brutally worn finish, upside-down tremolo bar, and cigarette burned
headstock,” according to the Austin City Limits website blog. Ray Hennig
was a father figure and a great friend to many Austin musicians. His
son said that a celebration of Ray’s life will be held at an appropriate
time in the future.