David Ritz (born December 2, 1943) is an American author. He has written novels, biographies, magazine articles, and over a hundred

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

for artists such as

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

, and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. He has coauthored 36 autobiographies, including some celebrities' autobiographies.

Career and bibliography

As a biographer

Ritz's first collaboration was ''Brother Ray'' (1978), the autobiography of

. Ritz has said that his initial intention was to write a biography until becoming intrigued by the idea of rendering the book entirely in Charles' voice. "That's when I discovered I had a gift for channeling voice", Ritz told the L.A. Times' Patrick Goldstein in 2012. "That discovery changed the course of my literary life." Other autobiographies co-written by Ritz include: *'' Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye'' began when Ritz met Gaye in the late seventies and was published in 1985, a year after the singer's death. *''Rhythm And The Blues: A Life in American Music'' (1993) with

Jerry Wexler Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integra ...

*''Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story'' (1995) with

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

*''Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B. B. King'' (1996) with B. B. King *''The Brothers Neville'' (2000) with the

Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

*'' True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself'' (2011) with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

*''When I Left Home: My Story'' (2012) with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

*''On Time: A Princely Life in Funk'' (2019) with Morris Day *''I’m Your Huckleberry'' (2020) with

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

*''Me and Sister Bobbie'' (2020) with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

*''Let Love Rule'' (2020) with

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

*''KG – A to Z'' (2021) with

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

*''Me and Paul – Untold Stories of a Fabled Friendship'' (2022) with

*''Share My Life'' (2023) with Kem *''Livin' on a Prayer: Big Songs, Big Life'' (2023) with Desmond Child *''Energy Follows Through: The Stories Behind Ny Songs'' (2023) with

Ritz has also written an inspirational book. ''Messengers'', a portrait of African-American gospel singers and ministers, was published in 2006, as well as memoir, ''The God Groove'', in 2019.

As a novelist

Ritz's fiction ranges from sports fantasies--''The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back To Brooklyn'' (1981)-- to jazz fantasies--''Blue Notes Under a Green Felt Hat'' (1989) and ''Barbells and Saxophones'' (1989). Ritz collaborated with

Mable John Mable John (November 3, 1930 – August 25, 2022) was an American blues vocalist and was the first female artist signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label. Biography John was born in Bastrop, Louisiana, on November 3, 1930, the eldest o ...

on three Christian novels: ''Sanctified'' (2006), ''Stay Out of the Kitchen'' (2007) and ''Love Tornado'' (2008). He has also collaborated with rapper

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

on two novels— ''Power and Beauty'' (2011) and ''Trouble and Triumph'' (2012). In 2016, Ritz collaborated with Willie Nelson on the novel ''Pretty Paper''.

As a children’s book author

''Brayden Speaks Up: How One Boy Inspired America'' (2021) with Brayden Harrington. ''Jason Goes For It'' (2023) with Brayden Harrington

As a lyricist

The

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

-selling song " Sexual Healing" was written in Ostend, Belgium in April 1982 and is credited as a collaboration between

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

Odell Brown Odell Elliott Brown Jr. (February 2, 1940 – May 3, 2011) was an American jazz organist. He was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing soul jazz and jazz funk with his backing band as Odell Brown & the Organ-Izers. Biography Brown was ...

, and Ritz. Ritz was not originally credited as songwriter. Ritz sued Marvin Gaye for songwriting credit; Ritz received credit only after settling with Marvin Gaye's estate after the singer's death. Ritz claims that the lawsuit was settled because he had interview tapes with Marvin Gaye in which Gaye says, "These are great lyrics you wrote." Ritz's songs have also been recorded by Smokey Robinson, the Isley Brothers and Kem. David Ritz co-wrote three songs including the title track from

Guy King Guy King (born 1977) is an Israeli-born blues and jazz guitarist and singer who now lives in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Guy King's playing style has been influenced by many jazz, Soul music, soul and blues musicians which include B.B. King ...

's 2016 album ''

Truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...

''. Ritz co-wrote “Brothers in the Night,” theme song for the 1983 film Uncommon Valor.

As a journalist

“Happy Song: Soul Music in the Ghetto,” Ritz's first critical essay, was published in ''

Salmagundi Salmagundi (alternatively salmagundy or sallid magundi) is a cold dish or salad made from different ingredients which may include meat, seafood, Egg as food, eggs, cooked and raw vegetables, fruits, or Pickling, pickles. In English culture, the ...

'' (1970). Dozens of other articles have followed, including “History of the Jews of Dallas,” ''D Magazine'' (1974); “Kids’ Stuff: Jackson Pollock, Jimmie Vaughan and the Architecture of Las Vegas,” ''Art Connoisseur'' (1998); “Show and Tell,” introduction to Rolling Stone's ''Tattoo Nation'' (2002); the forward to ''Lady Sings the Blues'', the 50th-anniversary edition of the autobiography of

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

(2006); and “The Last Days of Brother Ray,” included in ''Da Capo's Best Music Writing of 2005''.

Personal life

Ritz graduated from the University of Texas in Austin in 1966 (Magna Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa), and received a Masters of Arts from the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 a ...

in 1970, where he studied with literary critic

Leslie Fiedler Leslie Aaron Fiedler (March 8, 1917 – January 29, 2003) was an American literary critic, known for his interest in mythography and his championing of genre fiction. His work incorporates the application of psychological theories to American ...

. He has been married to Roberta Michele Ritz since 1968. They have two children, twins Alison and Jessica, born in 1974.

Awards

* 1992

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, Best Album Notes for

's ''Queen Of Soul – The Atlantic Recordings'' :*Ritz has also been nominated for four additional Grammys: “Ray Charles 50th Anniversary Collection,” Liner Notes (1997); “Ray Charles 50th Anniversary Collection,” Producer (1997); “Ray Charles—Pure Genius,” Liner Notes (2005); “Aretha Franklin—The Golden Reign,” Liner Notes (2008). * 1993 Ralph J. Gleason Award for ''

: Rhythm and the Blues''. * 1995 Ralph J. Gleason Award for ''

: Rage to Survive''. * 1996 Ralph J. Gleason Award for B. B. King’s ''Blues All Around Me'' * 2000 Ralph J. Gleason Award for the

' ''The Brothers Neville'' * 2006

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Deems Taylor Award for liner notes of ''Johnny “Guitar” Watson: The Funk Anthology'', released by Shout! Factory * 2011

Deems Taylor Award for liner notes of

& Friends: ''Riffin'', released by Verve/Hip-O Select.com/Universal Music Enterprises * 2013 Living Blues Reader's Poll, Best Book for ''When I Left Home: My Story'' –

and David Ritz – Da Capo Press * 2013 Association for Recorded Sound Award for Best Historical Research in Blues/Gospel/Hip-hop/R&B for ''When I Left Home: My Story'' –

and David Ritz – Da Capo * 2013

Timothy White Award for Outstanding Musical Biography for ''When I Left Home: My Story''-

and David Ritz

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritz, David American music journalists Marvin Gaye Grammy Award winners 1942 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American biographers