Ray Lynch

Ray Lynch
Background information
Born (1943-07-03) July 3, 1943
Origin Salt Lake City, Utah
Genres Adult Alternative, New-age, Instrumental, Classical
Occupation(s) Composer, musician, numerologist, author
Instruments Classical guitar, lute, piano, keyboard
Years active c. 1980–1998
Labels Ray Lynch Productions
Windham Hill Records
Website www.raylynch.com

Raymond "Ray" Lynch is a classically trained guitarist and lutenist. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to a musical and artistic family.[1] His mother was a classical pianist and watercolor artist. At age 6, Lynch began studying the piano until age 12, where he was inspired by the music of Andrés Segovia's classical recordings and decided to pursue a career in music. He attended both St. Stephen's Episcopal School, Austin, Texas and Austin High School then attended the main campus of University of Texas for one year before moving to Barcelona, Spain where he apprenticed to the classical guitar teacher, Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, for three years.[1]

After leaving Spain, he returned to the University of Texas where he studied music composition. While at college Lynch was invited to New York City to join The Renaissance Quartet where he performed the classical guitar and lute for several years.[1]

In the early days of his musical career, Lynch began writing instrumental recordings that blended classical and electronic components into melodic soundscapes. His earliest albums, The Truth is the Only Profound and The Sky of Mind (1983) artfully meshed his early classical music training with spatial melodies. The latter album became an underground success. When Lynch released his third album Deep Breakfast (1984), he and his wife Kathleen sold over 50,000 albums out of their small apartment in San Rafael, California before licensing the music to a distributor.[1] Deep Breakfast has sold over 1.4 million copies without the benefits of live performances or videos, and was the first independently released album to be certified Gold by the R.I.A.A., later being certified Platinum.[2]

Lynch's fourth album No Blue Thing (1989) became his first album to hit #1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart.[3] "No Blue Thing" was also his only album to appear on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums", landing at #197.[4]

In 1991, Lynch sued label company "Music West" for allegedly not paying him for his work. He later left out of the label's company for owning his own mastertapes and by releasing his music on his own label, "Ray Lynch Productions"[5][6] with his wife Kathleen serving as manager.[7] After signing up with Windham Hill Records,[8] Lynch's albums were re-released on September 1992 with new album covers.[9]

Under the new record company, Lynch followed up with his fifth album, the classical Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening, in 1993. The album featured members of the San Francisco Symphony. Like the preceding album, it hit #1 on the "Top New Age Albums" chart.[10] Lynch's final album, Ray Lynch: Best Of, Volume One (1998) is a retrospective of his work and includes three additional tracks created for the album.[11]

On September 12, 2015, Lynch's house was destroyed by the Valley Fire, along with his studio, awards, and the master tapes of his music. As a result, his friend Grant Valdes Huling set up a GoFundMe page and raised over $10,000 in 23 days.[12][13]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ray Lynch's official site: "Up Close and Personal"
  2. ↑ Jeffery, Don (February 5, 1994). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  5. ↑ Russell, Deborah (July 6, 1991). "New Age Act Ray Lynch Exits Music West In Pact Dispute" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Sun Sets On The Music West label; Jazz-Sampler Discovery; Couple Of Confabs" (PDF). Billboard: 45. July 18, 1992. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Court Order Restrains Music West On Lynch Titles" (PDF). October 19, 1991. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  8. ↑ Christman, Ed (14 November 1992). "Windham Hill". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Miller, Trudi (September 12, 1992). "Windham Hill Reissuing Lynch Catalog" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "New Age Journal". New Age Journal. 15 (2-6): 99. 1998. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Huling, Grant. "Click here to support Wildfire support for Ray Lynch by Grant Huling". GoFundMe. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Huling, Grant. "Wildfire support for Ray Lynch". Retrieved 7 February 2016.

External links

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