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Ry Cooder

Ryland Peter Cooder, 15 March 1947, Los Angeles, California, USA. One of popular music's premier talents, Cooder mastered the rudiments of guitar while still a child. He learned the techniques of traditional music from Rev. Gary Davis and by the age of 17 was part of a blues act with singer Jackie DeShannon. In 1965, he formed the Rising Sons with Taj Mahal and veteran Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy, but this promising group broke up when the release of a completed album was cancelled. However, the sessions brought Cooder into contact with producer Terry Melcher, who in turn employed the guitarist on several sessions, notably with Paul Revere And The Raiders. Cooder enjoyed a brief, but fruitful, association with Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band; his distinctive slide work is apparent on the group's debut album, Safe As Milk, but the artist declined an offer to join on a permanent basis. Instead, he continued his studio work, guesting on sessions for Randy Newman, Little Feat and Van Dyke Parks, as well as to the soundtracks of Candy and Performance. Cooder also contributed to the Rolling Stones' album Let It Bleed, and was tipped as a likely replacement for Brian Jones until clashes with Keith Richard, primarily over the authorship of the riff to "Honky Tonk Woman", precluded further involvement. Cooder's impressive debut album included material by Lead Belly, Sleepy John Estes and Blind Willie Johnson, and offered a patchwork of Americana that became his trademark. A second collection, Into The Purple Valley, established his vision more fully and introduced a tight but sympathetic band, which included long-standing collaborators Jim Keltner and Jim Dickinson. By contrast, several selections employed the barest instrumentation, resulting in one of the artist's finest releases. The rather desolate Boomer's Story completed Cooder's early trilogy and in 1974 he released the buoyant Paradise And Lunch. His confidence was immediately apparent on the reggae interpretation of "It's All Over Now" and the silky "Ditty Wa Ditty", and it was this acclaimed collection that established him as a major talent. A fascination with 30s topical songs was now muted in favour of a greater eclecticism, which in turn anticipated Cooder's subsequent direction. Chicken Skin Music was marked by two distinct preoccupation's. Contributions from Flaco Jiminez and Gabby Pahuini enhanced its mixture of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian styles, while Cooder's seamless playing and inspired arrangements created a sympathetic setting. The guitarist's relationship with Jiminez was maintained on a fine in-concert set, Show Time, but Cooder then abandoned this direction with the reverential Jazz.

This curiously unsatisfying album paid homage to the Dixieland era, but a crafted meticulousness denied the project life and its creator has since disowned it. Cooder then embraced a more mainstream approach with Bop Till You Drop, an ebullient, rhythmic, yet rock-based collection, reminiscent of Little Feat. The album, which included cameo performances from soul singer Chaka Khan, comprised several urban R&B standards, including "Little Sister", "Go Home Girl" and "Don't Mess Up A Good Thing". Its successor, Borderline, offered similar fare, but when the style was continued on a further release, The Slide Area, a sense of weariness became apparent. Such overtly commercial selections contrasted with Cooder's soundtrack work. The Long Riders, plus Paris, Texas and Crossroads, owed much to the spirit of adventure prevalent in his early work, while the expansive tapestry of these films allowed greater scope for his undoubted imagination. Cooder continued to work in this medium for much of the 90s. It was five years before Cooder released an official follow-up to The Slide Area and although Get Rhythm offered little not already displayed, it re-established a purpose to his rock-based work. In 1992, Cooder joined up with Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner and John Hiatt to record and perform under the name of Little Village. However, Cooder then turned his back on rock to pursue his long-standing interest in world music. In the mid-90s he was acclaimed for his successful collaborations with V.M. Bhatt on A Meeting By the River, and with Ali Farka Tour‚ on Talking Timbuktu. Further accolades came in 1997 when he worked with obscure Cuban musicians as the Buena Vista Social Club. The project's surprising commercial success was due reward for both Cooder and his new musical cohorts, but also landed the guitarist with a $100,000 fine from the US state department for breaching the embargo against Fidel Castro's communist regime. Cooder oversaw two further Buena Vista releases spotlighting venerable vocalists Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo. A documentary film, Buena Vista Social Club, was made in 1999 by German director Wim Wenders, further helping promote Cuba to the outside world. Cooder recorded one further album in Cuba with local guitarist Manuel Galban, of popular doo wop ensemble Los Zafiros, for which he was granted a special exemption from state department rules by outgoing US president Bill Clinton. Mambo Sinuendo, which was released on Cooder's Perro Verde imprint, featured a swinging sextet of two electric guitars, two drum kits, congas and bass. With Cooder having spent over a decade concentrating on acoustic instruments, it marked the welcome return of one of popular music's great electric guitar players.

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John Lee Hooker: The Best of Friends

Read "The Best of Friends" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
July 20, 2024

In contrast to his often (always?) irascible peer Chester Burnett, aka Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker has long been amenable to collaborations, reciprocal and otherwise. Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, Charlie Musselwhite and Carlos Santana, among others, appeared on The Healer (Chameleon,1989) and all those artists also populate the credits for The Best of Friends. (Santana, the Mexican-born guitar hero, appears with two different iterations of his band). Fittingly titled, this anthology is a suitable companion piece to Whiskey ...

Interview

Ry Cooder: Music Can Bring People Together

by Nenad Georgievski
April 21, 2022

The world of music is better because Ry Cooder is in it. He is now among a small handful of artists writing the book on how to keep pushing musical boundaries past the age of senior citizenship, continuing to take chances and exploring. His whole career has been incredibly varied and characterized by exploration, sitting on the edge between the traditional and the innovative. As a result, he has imbued the varied American folk traditions with his style and vision. ...

Album Review

Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal: Get on Board: The Songs Of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee

Read "Get on Board: The Songs Of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
April 9, 2022

There is an African proverb that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." The intimacy and the dynamics of the duet setting have long appealed to virtuoso guitarist Ry Cooder. During his expansive six decade career, he has released several adventurous duets and collaborative albums with luminaries such as guitarist Ali Farka Toure, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt or Manuel Galban, to name but a few. Get on Board is ...

Album Review

Ry Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer & Ruben Gonzalez: Buena Vista Social Club

Read "Buena Vista Social Club" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
March 19, 2016

One of the criteria for testing whether an album is a classic or not is to see its endurance and lasting appeal long after it was made rather than its immediate impact. When it comes to the Buena Vista Social Club album it not only made its impact soon after it was released, surpassing record sales projections, but almost 20 years ahead it still delights listeners, and most importantly it is still the best-selling recording in the “world music" genre ...

Extended Analysis

Ry Cooder and Corridos Famosos: Live in San Francisco

by Nenad Georgievski
October 6, 2013

Over the course of his illustrious career, visionary guitarist/producer Ry Cooder has been one of the most prolific and restlessly creative forces in contemporary music. For a period of over four decades his music and songs have helped shape the American music landscape by filtering the roots of his country's musical history through his own personal style and worldview. His music is a beautiful concoction of blues, folk, country, pop, rock, gospel, Norteno, jazz, and world music that he traverses ...

Album Review

Ry Cooder: Ry Cooder & Corridos Famosos - Live in San Francisco

Read "Ry Cooder & Corridos Famosos - Live in San Francisco" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
October 5, 2013

Ryland Peter Cooder is the quintessential American Music iconoclast who spent more of his career creatively south of the border. Early American jazz and blues, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, Cooder loved them all and delved deeply into each. A slide guitarist comparable to peers Duane Allman and Mick Taylor, it was Cooder who turned Keith Richards on to the open-G tuning that resulted in “Honky Tonk Women," and by extension “Street Fighting Man" and “Brown Sugar." Cooder had a string of eccentric, ...

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Album Review

Ry Cooder: My Name is Buddy

Read "My Name is Buddy" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
July 27, 2007

Veteran multi-instrumentalist/musical archivist Ry Cooder follows up his concept album Chavez Ravine (Nonesuch, 2005) with another narrative, My Name is Buddy. This time, with a similarly large cast of players, he suggests joining “...Buddy the Cat, Lefty Mouse and Reverend Tom Toad as they journey through time and space in the days of labor, big bosses, farm failures, strikes, company cops, sundown towns, hobos, and trains...the America of yesteryear." What makes My Name is Buddy so compelling is how so ...

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Recording

Something Else! Sneak Peek: Ry Cooder, "No Banker Left Behind" (2011)

Source: Something Else!
June 17, 2011

Tough times call for angry protest records, for political records, for records that produce rueful smiles. Ry Cooder has done that and more with “No Banker Left Behind," a tart treatise on the recent financial meltdown to be included on his forthcoming album Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down. In a canny twist, Cooder turns a well-known phrase—associated, until now, with the education program meant to raise standards across the nation—on its ear. He begins with this frankly delicious ...
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Recording

Ry Cooder: New Album in August

Source: JamBase
June 15, 2011

RY COODER'S PULL UP SOME DUST AND SIT DOWN; SIMPLE TOOLS FOR CITIZENS UNDER SIEGE! Ry Cooder will release his new album Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down on August 30 on Nonesuch/Perro Verde Records. Preorder the album here to receive a free instant download of “No Banker Left Behind." A statement released with the track listing reads: “There's you, the citizen, running in circles like a headless chicken. And there they are, there they all are, herding you ...
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Recording

Touring Ry Cooders American West

Source: Michael Ricci
November 22, 2008

WHEN Ry Cooder and I got to El Mirage Dry Lake, it was 110 degrees and heading to 117, hot enough to cook your head inside your hat. The Mojave Desert in daylight will cut the gizzard right out of you, Tom Joad once said, which is why the Okies crossed it at night.

I put away the map and Ry pulled the S.U.V. through the gate and stopped. The gravel road fell away below us and vanished into the ...
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Recording

Ry Cooder Anthology: "The UFO Has Landed" Released to Critical Acclaim

Source: 1888 Media
October 28, 2008

Rhino takes a joy ride through Ry Cooder's prolific career with a two-CD collection of his work as a solo artist and soundtrack composer. Available now for a suggested list price of $29.98, THE UFO HAS LANDED: THE RY COODER ANTHOLOGY collection is also available at all digital outlets for a suggested list price of $16.99. Produced by Cooder's son, Joachim, the 34-song compilation offers a fresh look at Cooder's musical career, spanning 38 years--from his eponymous 1970 debut to ...
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Recording

A Funky Chicken Man UFO Mystery! Help Solve the Ry Cooder Cover Art Conundrum!

Source: 1888 Media
October 17, 2008

A where's Waldo of the UFO variety...a decades old dilemma persists... In the thank you notes on page 39 of the beautifully elaborate booklet accompanying the career-spanning THE UFO HAS LANDED ANTHOLOGY, RY COODER poses the final words: --Somebody sent me the cover art in the mail years ago. Who was it? Please speak up! - RC -- A cyber quest is underway to find the artist. With the broad reach of the internet at our side, we're optimistic that ...
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179

Recording

Rhino's Ry Cooder Anthology

Source: All About Jazz
October 12, 2008

RY COODER'S MUSICAL JOURNEY

Rhino's Double-CD The UFO Has Landed: The Ry Cooder Anthology Includes 34 Songs From The Virtuoso Guitarist's Eclectic Career

Available October 28 From Rhino Records

LOS ANGELES - Rhino takes a joy ride through Ry Cooder's prolific career with a two-CD collection of his work as a solo artist and soundtrack composer. On October 28, THE UFO HAS LANDED: THE RY COODER ANTHOLOGY will be available at all retail outlets, including rhino.com, for a suggested list ...
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105

Recording

The UFO Has Landed - Listen to the Ry Cooder Anthology

Source: 1888 Media
October 2, 2008

Rhino takes a joy ride through Ry Cooder's prolific career with a two-CD collection of his work as a solo artist and soundtrack composer. On October 28, The UFO Has Landed: The Ry Cooder Anthology will be available at all retail outlets, including rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $29.98. The collection will also be available the same day at all digital outlets for a suggested list price of $16.99. Jump on board the UFO with this exclusive listening ...
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277

Recording

The UFO Has Landed: The Ry Cooder Anthology - 34-Track Set Spans 38 Years

Source: 1888 Media
September 18, 2008

RY COODER'S MUSICAL JOURNEY Rhino's Double-CD The UFO Has Landed: The Ry Cooder Anthology Includes 34 Songs From The Virtuoso Guitarist's Eclectic Career Available October 28 From Rhino Records LOS ANGELES -- Rhino takes a joy ride through Ry Cooder's prolific career with a two-CD collection of his work as a solo artist and soundtrack composer. On October 28, THE UFO HAS LANDED: THE RY COODER ANTHOLOGY will be available at all retail outlets, including www.rhino.com, for a suggested list ...
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Recording

Ry Cooder Keeps L.A. Sound Alive

Source: All About Jazz
July 31, 2008

Albums recall long-lost city of juke joints and honky-tonks LOS ANGELES - It was more than 50 years ago but Ry Cooder remembers it like it could have been last week; he was 8 years old and Johnny Cash came on the radio singing “Hey Porter." A third-grader with a guitar was hooked.

Cooder knew he had to head up to “Big River" himself. Or over to Folsom Prison or down to Jackson, Miss., or anywhere else Cash ...
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Recording

Ry Cooder Coaxes East L.A. Songbird

Source: Michael Ricci
May 9, 2008

El Chicano's Ersi Arvizu finds her voice.

(Arvizu and The Latin Legends Live shows at the Greek Theater Saturday, May 24, and Sunday, May 25)

Friend for Life

Ersi Arvizu was on vacation in Hawaii a few years ago when she heard that some guy named Ry Cooder was looking for her. She got the news from colleagues who knew her from her long-gone glory days as lead singer of El Chicano, the 1970s East L.A. band famous for her ...
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