Raymond Donnez (September 9, 1942 – March 7, 2019), or Don Ray, was a French

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

producer, arranger and performer.

Early life

A cult hero among fans of Eurodisco, Don Ray played keyboards on

Cerrone Marc CerroneDaryl Easlea, "Supernature Boy", ''Record Collector'', #502, February 2020, pp.60-63 (; born 24 May 1952) is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer and creator of concerts. Cerrone is a producer of 1970s and 1980s disco s ...

's records "Love in C Minor", "IV", "VI", and "VIII" and released one solo album, ''Garden of Love'', which featured his successful single "Got to Have Loving", cowritten with Cerrone, who drummed on the track. He also produced Santa Esmeralda's hit cover of "

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964 for her album '' Broadway-Blues-Ballads''. "Don't Let ...

" and their third LP, "

The House of the Rising Sun "The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk music, folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children t ...

". His single "Got To Have Loving" had cross-over success on pop radio, and reached #44 in the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1978. Also, was conductor in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

in three years,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

(for the Monegasque entry " Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va"),

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

(for the Monegasque entry " Toi, la musique et moi") and

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

(the winner of this year, the French "

L'oiseau et l'enfant "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" (; "The Bird and the Child") is a song recording by French singer Marie Myriam with music composed by Jean-Paul Cara and French lyrics written by . It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 held in London, resulting in the co ...

"). Don Ray was a musician with Alec Costandinos and his name appears on many of Alec's albums and jazz-funk classic singles "Standing in the Rain" and the slower "My Desire". The disco stomper "Midnight Madness" is only available on UK 12inch.Discogs – ''Don Ray Discography''
/ref> Donnez died at the age of 76 on 7 March, 2019.

Albums

''The Garden Of Love'' (1978)

References

1942 births 2019 deaths 21st-century French conductors (music) {{US-keyboardist-stub