Caron Nimoy "Sugaray" Rayford (born February 13, 1969) is an American

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by a ...

singer and songwriter. He has released five albums to date and been granted three

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy ...

s. Rayford's 2019 album, ''Somebody Save Me'', was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. In 2010, ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' magazine noted that "Sugaray is a first-rate blues artist with a deep-running, church honed soulfulness." His latest album, ''In Too Deep'', was released on March 4, 2022.

Biography

Rayford was born in

Smith County, Texas Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 233,479. Its county seat is Tyler. Smith County is named for James Smith, a general during the Texas Revolution. Smith County is part of the Ty ...

, United States, and sang at the age of seven in the Bethel Temple Church of God In Christ in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

. He also played the drums there, but his childhood was poverty stricken with his mother dying from cancer early in Rayford's life. “She suffered and we suffered,” Rayford said. “Then, we moved in with my grandmother and our lives were a lot better. We ate every day and we were in church every day, which I loved. I grew up in gospel and soul.” Living in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, he moved to contemporary music at the age of 12, initially singing with the Urban Gypsys. Turning towards the blues he joined the

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...

-based Aunt Kizzy's Boyz as lead vocalist. They released their debut album ''Trunk Full of Blues'' (2004), and represented San Diego in January 2006 at the

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, ...

, where they finished as runners-up. Their second album was ''It's Tight Like That'' (2007) and the following year won the LAMN Jam Grand Slam 'Urban Artist of the Year' title. They were offered a distribution deal by

RBC Records RBC Records is an American online independent record label and management company founded by partners Brian Shafton and Bob Grossi. It provides artists and independent labels with a full-service "virtual label" alternative to signing with a maj ...

. His first solo album was ''Blind Alley'', a self-released affair in 2010. In May 2011, Rayford joined

The Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys are an American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast, Texas and Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is named after the song "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. Led by ...

. He sang lead vocals on nine of the songs on their album, ''Double Dynamite'', that won the Best Traditional Blues Album title in May 2013 at the

s. In May 2012, Rayford made his stage debut starring in the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nominated

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

, '' It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues'' at the

Portland Center Stage Portland Center Stage at The Armory is a theater company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Theater productions are presented at The Armory in Portland's Pearl District. Portland Center Stage at The Armory was founded in 1988 as the no ...

. After relocating to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, he undertook recording studio vocal work, including on the theme for ''

Judge Joe Brown ''Judge Joe Brown'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show starring former Shelby County, Tennessee criminal court judge Joseph B. Brown. It premiered on September 14, 1998 and ran through the 2012–13 television season for a ...

'', the movie trailer ''City Lights'' and back up vocals for

The Heavy Pets The Heavy Pets are an American jam band based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renowned for their funk, jazz and reggae-infused brand of rock and roll. Officially formed in 2005, the band tours nationwide and appears regularly on the summer music fes ...

. ''Dangerous'' on Delta Groove Productions followed in 2013, and supporting Sugaray were guest performers including

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, "Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top ...

Kid Andersen Christoffer "Kid" Andersen (born 15 January 1980) is a blues guitarist from Herre, Norway. By age 11, Andersen had gained the attention of Norwegian blues guitar teacher, Morten Omlid, who steered him towards traditional blues music. In 2001, a ...

, and

Sugar Ray Norcia Sugar Ray Norcia (born Raymond Alan Norcia, June 6, 1954, Stonington, Connecticut, United States) is an American electric and soul blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his work with his backing band, The Bluetones, with whom ...

. Norcia wrote a duet for the album, called “Two Times Sugar”. The album debuted at number 2 on Blues Debut Chart, number 6 on the Roots Music Chart and number 2 on The Living Blues Chart. In October 2013, Rayford toured with Kevin Selfe and the Tornadoes. At the 36th Blues Music Awards, Rayford was nominated in two categories; B.B. King Entertainer and Traditional Blues Male Artist. In 2014, Rayford performed at the

Waterfront Blues Festival The Waterfront Blues Festival is an annual event in Portland, Oregon, United States featuring four days of performances by blues musicians. The festival started in 1988 and takes place in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, along the west bank of the Wil ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. On May 19, 2015, Rayford released ''Southside''. It featured a guest appearance by Bob Corritore on harmonica. On September 1, 2017, Rayford released his fourth album, ''The World That We Live In''. On January 9, 2018, Rayford was nominated for four Blues Music Awards for the 39th annual Blues Music Awards. These included 'Soul Blues Album', for ''The World That We Live In'', plus 'Soul Blues Male Artist', 'Instrumentalist - Vocals', and 'B.B. King Entertainer'. At the 40th Blues Music Awards in 2019, Rayford was named as 'Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year'. Rayford's fifth album, ''Somebody Save Me'', was nominated for a

in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. In May 2020, Rayford was presented with two Blues Music Awards for 'B.B King Entertainer of the Year' and 'Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year'. His latest album, ''In Too Deep'', was released on March 4, 2022. The album was cited as 'Soul Blues Album of the Year' at the 2023 Blues Music Awards.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Last.fm biographyReverbnation.com synopsis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayford, Sugaray 1969 births Living people American blues singers 20th-century African-American male singers American male singers Electric blues musicians Songwriters from Texas Texas blues musicians Soul-blues musicians People from Smith County, Texas African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

Albums

See also

References

External links