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Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in
traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, and his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries. Cooder's solo work draws upon many genres. He has played with John Lee Hooker, Captain Beefheart,
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
,
Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...
, Ali Farka Touré,
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
, the Rolling Stones,
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
,
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
,
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
, Linda Ronstadt, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, David Lindley, the Chieftains, Warren Zevon, Manuel Galbán, the Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, and Carla Olson and the Textones (on record and film). He formed the band Little Village, and produced the album '' Buena Vista Social Club'' (1997), which became a worldwide hit; Wim Wenders directed the documentary film of the same name (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000. Cooder was ranked at No. 8 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", while a 2010 list by
Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation and Gibson Brands Inc.) is an American manufacturer of Guitar manufacturing, guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashvi ...
placed him at No. 32. In 2011, he published a collection of short stories called '' Los Angeles Stories''.


Early life

Ryland Peter Cooder was born in Los Angeles,
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 ...
, on March 15, 1947, the son of Emma Casaroli and Bill Cooder. His mother was of Italian descent. He was raised in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, and graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1964. During the 1960s he briefly attended Reed College in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. He began playing the guitar when he was three years old. Aged four, he accidentally stuck a knife in his left eye; he has sported a glass eye ever since.


Career


1960s

Cooder performed as part of a pickup trio with Bill Monroe and Doc Watson, in which he played banjo. The trio was not successful, but reflecting his early exposure to the instrument, Cooder subsequently applied banjo tunings and the three finger roll to guitar. Cooder first attracted attention playing with Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, notably on the 1967 album '' Safe as Milk'', after previously having worked with
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
and Ed Cassidy in the Rising Sons. At a vital "warm-up" performance at the Mt. Tamalpais Festival (June 10–11, 1967) shortly before the scheduled Monterey Pop Festival (June 16–18, 1967), the band began to play "
Electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
" and Don Van Vliet froze, straightened his tie, then walked off the stage and landed on manager Bob Krasnow. He later claimed he had seen a girl in the audience turn into a fish, with bubbles coming from her mouth. This aborted any opportunity for breakthrough success at Monterey, for Cooder immediately decided he could no longer work with Van Vliet, effectively quitting both the event and the band on the spot. Cooder also played with
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
, including on '' 12 Songs''. Van Dyke Parks worked with Newman and Cooder during the 1960s. Parks arranged Cooder's "One Meatball" according to Parks' 1984 interview with Bob Claster. Cooder was a
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
on various recording sessions with the Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969, and his contributions appear on the albums '' Let It Bleed'' ( Yank Rachell-style mandolin on " Love in Vain"), and '' Sticky Fingers'', on which he contributed the slide guitar on " Sister Morphine". During this period, Cooder joined with Mick Jagger,
Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...
, Bill Wyman, and longtime Rolling Stones sideman Nicky Hopkins to record '' Jamming with Edward!''. Cooder also played slide guitar for the 1970 film soundtrack ''
Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
'', which contained Jagger's first solo single, " Memo from Turner". The 1975
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
''
Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...
'' features an uncredited Cooder contribution to Bill Wyman's "Downtown Suzie". Cooder also collaborated with Lowell George of Little Feat, playing bottleneck guitar on the original version of " Willin'". He also played bottleneck guitar and mandolin on two tracks on the Gordon Lightfoot album '' Sit Down Young Stranger'' (later re-titled ''If You Could Read My Mind''), recorded in late 1969 and released in early 1970.


1970s

Throughout the 1970s, Cooder released a series of Warner Bros. Records albums that showcased his guitar work, initially on the Reprise Records label, before being reassigned to the main Warners label along with many of Reprise's artists when the company retired the imprint. Cooder explored bygone musical genres and found old-time recordings which he then personalized and updated. Thus, on his breakthrough album, '' Into the Purple Valley'', he chose unusual instrumentations and arrangements of blues, gospel, calypso, and country songs (giving a tempo change to the cowboy ballad "Billy the Kid"). The album opened with the song "How Can You Keep on Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" by Agnes "Sis" Cunningham about the Okies who were not welcomed when they migrated west to escape the Dust Bowl in the 1930s – to which Cooder gave a rousing-yet-satirical march accompaniment. In 1970 he collaborated with Ron Nagle and performed on his ''Bad Rice'' album released on Warner Brothers. His later 1970s albums (with the exception of ''
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
'', which explored ragtime/vaudeville) do not fall under a single genre description, but his self-titled first album could be described as blues; ''Into the Purple Valley'', '' Boomer's Story'', and '' Paradise and Lunch'' as folk and blues; '' Chicken Skin Music'' and ''Showtime'' as a mix of
Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words ''Texas'' and ''Mexico'') is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejanos, Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern ...
and Hawaiian; '' Bop Till You Drop'' as 1950s R&B; and '' Borderline'' and ''Get Rhythm'' as rock-based. His 1979 album ''Bop Till You Drop'' was the first
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
album released that was recorded digitally, using the early 3M digital mastering recorder. It yielded his biggest hit, an R&B
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
's 1960s recording " Little Sister". Cooder is credited on
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
's 1979 album '' Into the Music'', for slide guitar on the song " Full Force Gale". He also played guitar on Judy Collins' 1970 concert tour, and is featured on ''
Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
'', the 1971 live album recorded during that tour. He also learned from and performed with Gabby Pahinui and "Atta" Isaacs in Hawaii during the Hawaiian Renaissance of the early 1970s. He is also credited for guitars on several 1971 recordings by Nancy Sinatra that were produced by Andy Wickman and Lenny Waronker – "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone", "Hook & Ladder", and "Glory Road". Cooder is credited as a mandolin player on Gordon Lightfoot's ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'' album in 1972.


1980s

Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks including the Wim Wenders film '' Paris, Texas'' (1984). Cooder based this soundtrack and title song "Paris, Texas" on
Blind Willie Johnson Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945), commonly known as Blind Willie Johnson, was an American gospel blues singer and guitarist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930, thirty songs in all, display a combinat ...
's " Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)", which he described as "the most soulful, transcendent piece in all American music". Musician Dave Grohl has declared Cooder's score for ''Paris, Texas'' one of his favorite albums. In 2018 Cooder told
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
listeners: " endersdid a very good job at capturing the ambiance out there in the desert, just letting the microphones and the nagra machine roll and get tones and sound from the desert itself, which I discovered was E♭, was in the key of E♭ – that's the wind, you know, was nice. So we tuned everything to E♭." "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)" was also the basis for Cooder's song "Powis Square" for the movie ''
Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
''. His other film work includes Walter Hill's '' The Long Riders'' (1980), '' Southern Comfort'' (1981), '' Streets of Fire'' (1984), ''
Brewster's Millions ''Brewster's Millions'' is a comedic novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. The plot concerns a young man whose grandfather leaves him $1 million in a will, but a competing will from ...
'' (1985), '' Johnny Handsome'', '' Last Man Standing'' (1996), Hill's '' Trespass'' (1992) and Mike Nichols' '' Primary Colors'' (1998). Cooder, along with Arlen Roth, dubbed all slide and regular blues guitar parts in the 1986 film '' Crossroads'', a take on blues legend Robert Johnson. In 1988, Cooder produced the album by his longtime backing vocalists Bobby King and Terry Evans on
Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...
titled ''Live and Let Live''. He contributed his slide guitar work to every track. He also plays extensively on their 1990 self-produced Rounder release ''Rhythm, Blues, Soul & Grooves''. Cooder's music also appeared on two episodes of the television program ''Tales From the Crypt'': "The Man Who Was Death" and "The Thing From the Grave". In 1984, Cooder played on two songs on the debut album by Carla Olson & the Textones, ''Midnight Mission'' – "Carla's Number One is to Survive" and the previously unreleased
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
song "Clean Cut Kid". Shortly thereafter he was writing and recording the music for the film ''Blue City'' and asked the band to appear in the film performing. (He took them to the studio and produced "You Can Run" which he also played on.) In 1985, Cooder was a guest artist on the song "Rough Edges" from
Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...
' album '' Barking at Airplanes''. Kim named her son Ry as a tribute to Ry Cooder. Also in 1988, Cooder produced and featured in the Les Blank-directed concert documentary film ''Ry Cooder & The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: Let's Have a Ball'' where he plays in collaboration with a selection of musicians famous in their various musical fields. The following year, he played a janitor in the Jim Henson series '' The Ghost of Faffner Hall'', in the episode "Music Is More Than Technique".


1990s

In the early 1990s, Cooder collaborated on two
world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
"crossover" albums, which blended the traditional American musical genres that Cooder has championed throughout his career with the contemporary improvised music of India and Africa. For '' A Meeting by the River'' (1993), which also featured his son Joachim Cooder on percussion, he teamed with Hindustani classical musician V.M. Bhatt, a virtuoso of the Mohan Veena (a modified 20-string archtop guitar of Bhatt's own invention) and Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari also known as Pinky Tabla Player. In 1993 he teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Ali Farka Touré from
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
to record the album '' Talking Timbuktu'', which he also produced. The album, released in 1994, also featured longtime Cooder collaborator Jim Keltner on drums, veteran blues guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, jazz bassist John Patitucci and African percussionists and musicians including Hamma Sankare and Oumar Toure. Both albums won the
Grammy Award 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 ...
for Best World Music Album in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Cooder also worked with Tuvan throat singers for the score to the 1993 film '' Geronimo: An American Legend''. In 1995 he performed in '' The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True'', a musical performance of the popular story at the Lincoln Center in New York to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on both TBS and TNT. It was issued on CD and video in 1996. In the late 1990s Cooder played a significant role in the increased appreciation of traditional
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n music, due to his collaboration as producer of the '' Buena Vista Social Club'' (1997) recording, which became a worldwide hit and revived the careers of some of the greatest surviving exponents of 20th century Cuban music. Wim Wenders, who had previously directed 1984's '' Paris, Texas'', directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, '' Buena Vista Social Club'' (1999), which was nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
in 2000. The enterprise cost him a $25,000 fine for violating the United States embargo against Cuba.


2000s

Cooder's 2005 album '' Chávez Ravine'' was touted by his
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
as being "a post-World War II-era American narrative of 'cool cats', radios, UFO sightings, J. Edgar Hoover, red scares, and baseball". The record is a tribute to the long-gone Los Angeles Latino enclave known as Chávez Ravine. Using real and imagined historical characters, Cooder and friends created an album that recollects various aspects of the poor but vibrant hillside Chicano community that no longer exists. Cooder says, "Here is some music for a place you don't know, up a road you don't go. Chávez Ravine, where the sidewalk ends." Drawing from the various musical strains of Los Angeles, including conjunto, R&B, Latin pop, and jazz, Cooder and friends conjure the ghosts of Chávez Ravine and Los Angeles at mid-century. On this fifteen-track album, sung in Spanish and English, Cooder is joined by East L.A. legends like Chicano music patriarch Lalo Guerrero, Pachuco boogie king Don Tosti, Thee Midniters front man Little Willie G, and Ersi Arvizu, of The Sisters and El Chicano. Cooder's next record was released in 2007. Entitled '' My Name Is Buddy'', it tells the story of Buddy Red Cat, who travels and sees the world in the company of his like-minded friends, Lefty Mouse and Rev. Tom Toad. The entire recording is a parable of the working class progressivism of the first half of the American twentieth century, and even has a song featuring executed unionist Joe Hill. ''My Name Is Buddy'' was accompanied by a booklet featuring a story and illustration (by Vincent Valdez) for each track, providing additional context to Buddy's adventures. Cooder produced and performed on an album for Mavis Staples entitled '' We'll Never Turn Back'', which was released on April 24, 2007. The
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
focused on
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
songs of the civil rights movement and also included two new original songs by Cooder. Cooder's album '' I, Flathead'' was released on June 24, 2008. It is the completion of his California trilogy. Based on the drag racing culture of the early 1960s, the album is set on the desert salt flats in southern California. The disc was also released as a deluxe edition with stories written by Cooder to accompany the music. In late 2009, Cooder toured Japan, New Zealand, and Australia with Nick Lowe, performing some of Lowe's songs and a selection of Cooder's own material, mainly from the 1970s. Joaquim Cooder (Ry's son) provided percussion, and Juliette Commagere and Alex Lilly contributed backing vocals. The song "Diaraby", which Cooder recorded with Ali Farka Touré, is used as the theme to '' The World's'' Geo Quiz. ''The World'' is a radio show distributed by
Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...
. In 2009, Cooder performed in '' The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's '' A People's History of the United States''. Cooder performed with Bob Dylan and Van Dyke Parks on the documentary broadcast on December 13, 2009, on the
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
. They played " Do Re Mi" and reportedly a couple of other Guthrie songs that were excluded from the final edit. He also traveled with the band Los Tigres del Norte and recorded the 2010 album '' San Patricio'' with the Chieftains, Lila Downs, Liam Neeson, Linda Ronstadt, Van Dyke Parks, Los Cenzontles, and Los Tigres.


2010s

In June 2010, responding to the passage of Arizona SB 1070, he released the single "Quicksand", which tells the story of Mexicans attempting to emigrate to Arizona through the desert. Cooder's critically acclaimed new album '' Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down'', released on August 30, 2011, contains politically charged songs such as "No Banker Left Behind" which was inspired by a Robert Scheer column. In 2011, he published a collection of short stories called '' Los Angeles Stories'', written about people living in Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s. The book's characters are mostly talented or skilled, clever or hardworking people living in humble circumstances. With story titles such as "La vida es un sueño" and "Kill me, por favor", the collection's stories often have a Hispanic theme, and the book deals partially with Latinos living in Los Angeles during this time. An '' American Songwriter'' article in 2012 suggested that Cooder's recent string of solo albums have often taken on an allegorical, sociopolitical bent. Music journalist Evan Schlansky said that "Cooder's latest effort, '' Election Special'' (released August 21, 2012, on Nonesuch/Perro Verde) doesn't mince words. It's designed to send a message to the 'deacons in the High Church of the Next Dollar'". The album was composed in support of the Democratic Party and President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in the 2012 election. On September 10, 2013, Cooder released '' Live in San Francisco'', featuring the Corridos Famosos band, including Joachim Cooder on drums; Robert Francis on bass; vocalists Terry Evans, Arnold McCuller, and Juliette Commagere; Flaco Jiménez on accordion; and the Mexican brass band La Banda Juvenil. The album was recorded during a two-night run at Great American Music Hall in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, August 31 and September 1, 2011. It is Cooder's first official live recording since ''Show Time'' in 1977 (which had also been recorded at Great American Music Hall). In 2015, Cooder toured with Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White and other members of the Whites with their "Music for The Good People" show. The tour continued through into 2016. On May 11, 2018, Cooder released his first solo album in six years entitled '' The Prodigal Son''. The subsequent tour featured opening performances by his son, Joachim, who also accompanied Cooder on drums. In 2019, he toured with Rosanne Cash on a brief tour as a tribute to Johnny Cash called "Cooder and Cash on Cash".


2020s

On April 22, 2022, Cooder and Taj Mahal released ''Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee''.


Awards

* 1988
Grammy Award 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 ...
(Best Recording for Children) – ''Pecos Bill'', producer ( Rabbit Ears Productions) * 1993 Grammy Award ( Best World Music Album) – '' A Meeting by the River'' (with Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt) * 1994 Grammy Award (Best World Music Album) – '' Talking Timbuktu with Ali Farka Toure'' * 1997 Grammy Award (Best Tropical Latin Performance) – '' Buena Vista Social Club'' * 2003 Grammy Award (Best Pop Instrumental Album) – '' Mambo Sinuendo'' with Manuel Galbán * 2003 Grammy Award (Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album) – ''Buenos Hermanos'', producer ( Ibrahim Ferrer, artist) * 2000 – Honorary doctorate from Queen's University, Canada * 2001 – Honorary doctorate from the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
* 2017 – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award * 2018 – Montreal International Jazz Festival – Spirit Award


Discography


Solo albums

* '' Ry Cooder'' (December 1970) * '' Into the Purple Valley'' (February 1972) * '' Boomer's Story'' (November 1972) * '' Paradise and Lunch'' (May 1974) * '' Chicken Skin Music'' (October 1976) * '' Show Time'' (January 1977) * ''
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
'' (June 1978) * '' Bop Till You Drop'' (August 1979) * '' Borderline'' (October 1980) * '' The Slide Area'' (April 1982) * '' Get Rhythm'' (November 1987) * '' Chávez Ravine'' (May 2005) * '' My Name Is Buddy'' (March 2007) * '' I, Flathead'' (June 2008) * '' Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down'' (August 2011) * '' Election Special'' (August 2012) * '' The Prodigal Son'' (May 2018)


Compilations

* ''Why Don't You Try Me Tonight'' (1986) * ''River Rescue – The Very Best of Ry Cooder'' (1994) * '' Music by Ry Cooder'' (1995) (two-disc set of film music) * ''The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed'' (October 2008)


Singles

* " He'll Have to Go" / "The Bourgeouis Blues" (1977; Reprise Records) * "Little Sister" / "Down In Hollywood" (1979; Warner Records) * "Crazy 'Bout an Automobile (Every Woman I Know)" Recorded live, October 25, 1980, at Victoria Apollo, London / "If Walls Could Talk" Recorded live, February 26, 1981, at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California / "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)" Recorded live, February 26, 1981, at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California / "Look at Granny Run Run" Recorded live, February 26, 1981, at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California (1981; Warner Records) * "Gypsy Woman"/ "Alimony" (1982; Nonesuch Records) * "Get Rhythm"/ "Get Your Lies Straight" / "Down in Hollywood" (1988) * "Come Down" / "Get Rhythm" / "Little Sister" (1994) * "Quicksand" (June 2010)


Collaborations

* ''Tanyet'' (1967) (with The Ceyleib People) *'' Jamming with Edward!'' (''Let It Bleed sessions'', 1969, with Nicky Hopkins, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman,
Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...
) (1972) * "GABBY PAHINUI HAWAIIAN BAND vol.1" Gaby Pahinui and Ry Cooder (1975) * "GABBY PAHINUI HAWAIIAN BAND vol.2" Gaby Pahinui and Ry Cooder (1977) * ''Ry Cooder and the Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: Let's Have a Ball'' (1988) * ''Rising Sons featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder'' with Rising Sons (recorded 1965/66, released 1992) * '' Little Village'' (1992) * '' A Meeting by the River'' (1993) (with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt) * '' Talking Timbuktu'' (1994) (with Ali Farka Touré) * ''Ry Cooder/Lindley Family: Live At The Vienna Opera House'' (1995) with Joachim Cooder, David Lindley and Rosanne Lindley * '' The Long Black Veil'' (1995) (with the Chieftains) * '' Buena Vista Social Club'' (September 1997) * '' Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer'' (1999) (with Ibrahim Ferrer) * ''Hollow Bamboo'' with
Jon Hassell Jon Hassell (March 22, 1937 – June 26, 2021) was an American trumpet player and composer. He was best known for developing the concept of "Fourth World" music, which describes a "unified primitive/futurist sound" combining elements of various w ...
and Ronu Majumdar ( bansuri) (2000) * '' Mambo Sinuendo'' (January 2003) (with Manuel Galbán) * ''Buenos Hermanos'' (2003) (with Ibrahim Ferrer) * ''Mi Sueño'' (2007) (with Ibrahim Ferrer, production of 'Melodía del río' only) * '' Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall'' (2008) (with Buena Vista Social Club) * '' San Patricio'' (March 2010) (with the Chieftains) * '' Live in San Francisco'' (September 2013) (with Corridos Famosos) * '' Lost and Found'' (March 2015) (with Buena Vista Social Club, production of 'Macusa' and 'Lágrimas Negras' only) * ''Get On Board'' (May 2022) (with
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
)


Soundtracks

* ''
Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
'' (1970, three of 13 tracks) * '' The Long Riders'' (June 1980) * '' Southern Comfort'' (1981) * '' The Border'' (1982) * '' Streets of Fire'' (1984) * '' Paris, Texas'' (February 1985) * '' Alamo Bay'' (August 1985) * '' Blue City'' (July 1986) * '' Crossroads'' (July 1986) * ''
Cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...
'' (1988, one track: " All Shook Up") * '' Johnny Handsome'' (October 1989) * '' Trespass'' (January 1993) * '' Geronimo: An American Legend'' (1993) * '' Last Man Standing'' (1996) * '' The End of Violence'' (1997) * '' Primary Colors'' (1998) * '' My Blueberry Nights'' (2007)


As session musician

* '' Safe as Milk'' (1967) with Captain Beefheart * ''
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
'' (1968) with
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
* ''Gentle Soul'' (1968) with The Gentle Soul * ''
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
'' (1968) with
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
* ''
Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
'' (1968) with the Monkees * '' Permanent Damage'' (1969) with the GTOs * '' Hard 'N' Heavy (with Marshmallow)'' (1969) Paul Revere & the Raiders * ''Border Town'' (1969) with Fusion * '' Longbranch Pennywhistle'' (1969) with Longbranch Pennywhistle * '' Let It Bleed'' (1969) with the Rolling Stones * " Something Better / Sister Morphine" (1969) with Marianne Faithfull * '' Running Down the Road'' (1969) with Arlo Guthrie * '' 12 Songs'' (1970) with
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
* '' The Candlestickmaker'' (1970) with Ron Elliott * '' Washington County'' (1970) with Arlo Guthrie * '' Stained Glass Morning'' (1970) with Scott McKenzie * '' Sit Down Young Stranger'' (1970) with
Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...
* ''
Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...
'' (1971) * ''Stories'' (1971) with David Blue * '' Sticky Fingers'' (1971) with the Rolling Stones * '' Little Feat'' (1971) with Little Feat * '' She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina'' (1971) with Buffy Sainte-Marie * ''
Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
'' (1971) with Judy Collins * '' Rita Coolidge'' (1971) with Rita Coolidge * ''Petaluma'' (1972) with Norman Greenbaum * ''Salty'' (1972) with Alex Richman * '' Sail Away'' (1972) with Randy Newman * '' Stories We Could Tell'' (1972) with
the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
* ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'' (1972) with Gordon Lightfoot * '' Hobo's Lullaby'' (1972) with Arlo Guthrie * ''Rod Taylor'' (1973) with Rod Taylor * '' Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys'' (1973) with Arlo Guthrie * '' Maria Muldaur'' (1973) with Maria Muldaur * '' Good Old Boys'' (1974) with Randy Newman * '' Arlo Guthrie'' (1974) with Arlo Guthrie * '' Stampede'' (1975) with the Doobie Brothers * '' Little Criminals'' (1977) with Randy Newman * '' Blue Collar'' (1978) (soundtrack) * '' Into the Music'' (1979) with
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
* '' No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future'' (1979) * '' Money and Cigarettes'' (1983) with
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
* ''Midnight Mission'' (1984) Carla Olson and the Textones * '' Bring the Family'' (1987) with John Hiatt * '' Trio'' (1987) with
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
, Linda Ronstadt and
Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
* ''Live and Let Live'' (1988) with Bobby King and Terry Evans * '' Party of One'' (1990) Nick Lowe * '' Mr. Lucky'' (1991) with John Lee Hooker * '' Warm Your Heart'' (1991) Aaron Neville * ''Peace to the Neighborhood'' (1992) Pops Staples * ''Father Father'' (1994) Pops Staples * ''King Cake Party'' (1994) with the Zydeco Party Band * '' The Tractors'' (1994) with the Tractors * ''
A Toda Cuba le Gusta A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
'' (1997) with the Afro-Cuban All Stars * '' Good Dog, Happy Man'' (1999) with Bill Frisell * ''Sublime Ilusión'' (1999) with Eliades Ochoa * '' Chanchullo'' (2000) with Rubén González * '' October Road'' (2002) with James Taylor * '' The Wind'' (2003) with Warren Zevon * '' Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon'' (2004) *''Delta Time'' (2012) with Hans Theessink and Terry Evans *''Fuchsia Machu Picchu'' (2018) with Joachim Cooder


Films

* ''Ry Cooder and the Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, California; March 25, 1987'' (1987), Director: Les Blank, Producer: Ry Cooder, Flower Films and Warner Brothers. Records.


Written works

* '' Los Angeles Stories'',
City Lights Publishers City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected t ...
(2011)


References


External links

*
Ry Cooder (Nonesuch Records)

''Los Angeles Stories'' Book Description

Ry Cooder
at discogs.com
Ry Cooder
at 45cat.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooder, Ry 1947 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American film score composers American male film score composers American blues guitarists American blues mandolinists American blues singers American folk guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists American rock singers American multi-instrumentalists American people of Italian descent American writers with disabilities American session musicians Buena Vista Social Club Captain Beefheart Contemporary blues musicians American fingerstyle guitarists Georges Delerue Award winners Grammy Award winners Guitarists from Los Angeles American lead guitarists The Magic Band members Nonesuch Records artists Reed College alumni Reprise Records artists American slide guitarists Warner Records artists