Song:Barfly
Album:Till The Sun Turns Black
Singer songwriter Ray Lamontagne isn't likely to ever be a big mainstream pop star but he seems to be doing well for a guy who stumbled into music. He was born June 18, 1973 in Nashua, NH. His parents split up and his mom moved the family around the country to wherever she could find work. He went to high school in Utah and then moved to Lewiston, ME to take a job in a shoe factory. I guess Lamontagne had an epiphany after hearing the Stephen Stills song Treetop Flyer on the radio and he quit his job and took up music. His 1999 demo got the attention of Jamie Ceretta of Chrysalis Music Publishing. He signed a publishing deal which led to a record deal with RCA. His 2004 debut CD Trouble was produced by veteran producer Ethan Johns. He's the son of legendary British producer Glyn Johns. The album did OK but got a big boost when 2005 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks performed Trouble on the show to positive feddback from the judges. That's how obscure singers get discovered these days. Their songs are covered on American Idol. As a result, Lamontagne's 2006 CD Till The Sun Turns Black reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 200. His latest CD Gossip In The Grain was released Oct. 2008 and did even better at #3. He records now with his touring band including Ethan Johns on drums. Ray Lamontagne will remind you of guys like Nick Drake & Tim Buckley and he doesn't like to do interviews and that makes him even more interesting to some fans. So check him out for yourself. Here's Ray Lamontagne performing Barfly on BBC 4 Sessions.
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