Ray Billings holds a copy of his release, "The Watchmaker Song," and a plaque he received from Glory Train Records for having that label's No. 1 worldwide gospel hit.

Billings nets international attention with gospel hit 'Watchmaker Song'

To meet Ray Billings of Sparta, one would never suspect that he penned and sang the No. 1 song on the International "God's Country" gospel chart.

Billings is a quiet and unassuming man, but his music is garnering international attention.

His recent release, "The Watchmaker Song" on Glory Train Records, was actually recorded about 10 years ago. The song is still on the European Country Music Association chart, ranking No. 24 as recently as late March. It entered that chart on Dec. 2, '03 at No. 85.

"They do things differently over there," said Billings of the European charts. "They mix country music and gospel music on the radio." Most stations in the United States play either country or gospel, with the exception of some cross-over hits.

One example is well-known U.S. country music hit "Long Black Train" by Josh Turner, which was ranked No. 23 in October, 22 spots behind Billings' song on that particular chart.

He also has earned other overseas accolades, all based on air play for the song, including being the No. 13 most played overseas gospel artist, No. 19 most played in France, No. 17 in Spain, Norway and Sweden and also in the top 25 most played in several other countries. Billings has not aggressively marketed his recordings for profit, since that is not his main goal. "It's not about the money," he said. "I haven't really pushed for it on sales." Charts are based on the number of times a song plays on the radio, Billings said, not the number of copies sold. Copies of his release are not even available in stores in Europe, although they can be ordered from his website at www.raybillings.com.

The song, although it performed well, didn't reach the success in this country it did in Europe. "The Watchmaker Song" reached No. 35 on the Country Gospel Connection Chart, which is the official national chart for the Country Gospel Music Association in Branson, Missouri.

The song, which is also the name of Billings' album, is actually denouncing atheism, stating that there had to be a watchmaker or there couldn't have been a watch — a parallel with God's creation of the world in which we live. Billings said he got the idea for the song a number of years ago from a sermon he heard in Nashville.

He decided to work with Glory Train after seeing an advertisement in a magazine.

"I called them and it went from there," he said. His first release, "The Jewels in Satan's Mansion," was met with limited success. Glory Train sends out compilation albums to 1,540 radio stations worldwide, Billings noted.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back