Raymond Lynch (born July 3, 1943) is an American guitarist, lutenist, keyboardist, and composer known for his

new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

releases in the 1980s. In the late 1960s, Lynch performed on the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

in New York's Renaissance Quartette, but he withdrew to California and began incorporating

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

elements, as heard in 1983's '' The Sky of Mind''. He vaulted to fame in 1986 with the single " Celestial Soda Pop" and the 1984 album '' Deep Breakfast'', becoming the first independent new-age artist certified Gold for sales of 500,000. His album '' No Blue Thing'' topped the ''Billboard'' New Age album chart in 1989. Lynch sued his label Music West and joined

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

in 1992 before retiring in 2000.

Early life

Lynch was born on July 3, 1943, in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. As the second of four children, Lynch was raised in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

. Lynch's father was a lawyer; Lynch's mother was a noted watercolorist and an amateur pianist who influenced him to create music as a child. Other early influences included

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

and

soundtracks A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

. Lynch began studying the piano at the age of six. At age twelve, he was inspired by

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...

's classical recordings and decided to pursue a career in music. After attending

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in both St. Stephen's Episcopal School and Austin High School, Lynch went to the Austin campus of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. After studying there for a year, he moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

with his then wife Ginny and his child. Over there, he was apprenticed to Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, a

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

teacher. Three years later Lynch returned to the university to study composition with various instruments including guitar,

, and

vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...

. While Lynch went on to become a musician, his siblings ended up becoming lawyers.

Life and career

In 1967, while still in college, Lynch was invited to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to join the Renaissance Quartet, performing the

alongside Robert White (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

), Barbara Mueser (

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

), and Morris Newman (

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

), replacing

Joseph Iadone Joseph Iadone (September 5, 1914 – March 23, 2004) was an American lutenist who was a member of various bands, including New York Pro Musica, Renaissance Quartet, and Iadone Consort. Early life Joseph Iadone attended Yale University, while stud ...

. Lynch also performed with other groups, such as "Festival Winds", as well as collaborative and solo performances. Lynch also taught the guitar, lute, and vihuela in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

city of

Taxco Taxco de Alarcón (; usually referred to as simply Taxco) is a small city and administrative center of Taxco de Alarcón Municipality located in the Mexico, Mexican state of Guerrero. Taxco is located in the north-central part of the state, from ...

in the late 1960s. During his career, Lynch purchased a 125-acre farm in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. By 1974, Lynch experienced a "spiritual crisis" that led to his decision to move from Maine to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and give up his musical career. Although he became a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

and a

purchasing agent Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary gr ...

in California, Lynch also continued to practice his compositional skills. In an interview with ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

'', Lynch said that his return to music was prompted by a suggestion from his spiritual teacher,

Adi Da Adi Da Samraj (born Franklin Albert Jones; November 3, 1939 – November 27, 2008) was an American-born spiritual teacher, writer and artist. He was the founder of a new religious movement known as Adidam. Adi Da became known in the spiritual ...

, in California. To prepare for his return to music, Lynch bought an

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog circuit, analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Minimoog, Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, a ...

with "borrowed money" in 1980; the synthesizer helped him create music in the developing electronic genre. Two years later, Lynch released his first album, ''Truth Is the Only Profound'', which recites the teachings of Adi Da "set to the background of devotional music and songs". Lynch later followed up with an instrumental album, ''The Sky of Mind''. When Lynch released his third album, '' Deep Breakfast'', in 1984 independently, he sold over 72,000 albums out of his small apartment. Lynch was featured on Musical Starstreams in June 1985. Immediately after joining Music West in Winter 1985, he released ''Deep Breakfast'' to a wider audience. The track " Celestial Soda Pop" was used in 1986 as theme music for the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

program ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

''. In January 1989, the album hit number 2 on the Billboard New Age chart, then in April it was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. In August 1989, '' No Blue Thing'' was released, and it became Lynch's first album to hit number 1 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

's "Top New Age Albums" chart, doing so in September. ''No Blue Thing'' was also his only album to appear on Billboard's "

Top 200 Albums The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recordi ...

", peaking at number 197. It won Billboard's "Top New Age Album" in 1990, and Lynch also won Billboard's "Top New Age Artist" in both 1989 and 1990. After years of steady sales, ''Deep Breakfast'' was certified Platinum in May 1993. During his time with Music West, Lynch was featured on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' as well as the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

La 1 program "Música N.A.". In 1991, Lynch sued Music West for allegedly not paying him for his work. He left Music West, taking the rights to his music with him, and signed up with

Windham Hill Records Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

. Under the new label, Lynch's albums ''The Sky of Mind'' and ''No Blue Thing'' (but not ''Deep Breakfast'') were re-released in September 1992 with new album covers. Under the new record company, Lynch followed up with his final album, the classical '' Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening'', in 1993. The album featured members of the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...

. Like the preceding album, it hit number 1 on the "Top New Age Albums" chart. In 1998, Lynch released his first and only compilation album, '' Ray Lynch: Best Of, Volume One'', which included two original tracks and a remix of " Celestial Soda Pop". Lynch left Windham Hill in 2000 and re-released his own catalog of music under his own record company. In September 2015, Lynch's house was destroyed by the

Valley Fire The Valley Fire was a wildfire during the 2015 California wildfires, 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12 in Lake County, California. It began shortly after 1:00 pm near Cobb, California, Cobb with multiple reports of a ...

, along with his studio, awards, and the master tapes of his music. As a result, his friend Grant Valdes Huling set up a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

page, which ultimately raised over $20,000.

Influences

Throughout his career, Lynch did not want his music to be classified as "New Age". In an interview with

CD Review ''CD Review'' (formerly known as ''Digital Audio'' and ''Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review'') is a discontinued American monthly magazine that specialized in reviewing albums and audio electronics, especially compact discs. The magazine was ...

in August 1989, Lynch said he didn't really mind being labeled as a "new age" artist, but says that he doesn't like "being grouped with music that I felt is, in general, pretty mediocre and boring". Lynch also said that "'classical' would be the best category for me." Lynch had been both a student and follower of

since 1974. In regards to the spiritual nature of his music, Lynch believed that it "has to be judged subjectively by the listener, not the composer." Lynch named several of his songs and albums after the themes found in Da's novel, ''The Mummery Book''. However, in a 1989

Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

interview, Lynch clarified that he wasn't trying to promote Da's work through his music. After the death of Adi Da, Lynch performed various songs for Da's tribute album, "May You Ever Dwell In Our Heart", in 2009.

Discography

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Ray American new-age musicians American classical musicians American ambient musicians Moody College of Communication alumni Living people Musicians from Salt Lake City Musicians from San Rafael, California Windham Hill Records artists 1943 births Classical musicians from Texas Classical musicians from California