Ray Lamontagne biography
Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after hearing an album by Stephen Stills. Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.
Early life
LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973. Despite his father's background in music, LaMontagne avoided the activity and spent time reading fantasy novels in the forest. He spent time in several different states in his youth. In his early teens he lived in Morgan, Utah, a small rural town of 2000 people. He was known for being a aloof, and indifferent to his education. He was much more interested in drawing images of Dungeons and Dragons than he was in his school work. He was well liked, and revered as somewhat of a mild nuisance. After graduating from high school, LaMontagne moved to Lewiston, Maine and found work in a shoe factory.
Career
LaMontagne has a unique vocal style, which he says is created by singing through his gut instead of through his nose. He cites Stephen Stills, Richard Manuel, and Rick Danko as strong musical influences while critics have compared LaMontagne's music to The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley.
1999 to 2005
LaMontagne was inspired to quit his job and begin a career as a singer-songwriter after listening to Stephen Stills' album
Manassas. LaMontagne began performing in 1999, while maintaining a part time job as a tutor.
In 2004 LaMontagne recorded his first album Trouble with producer Ethan Johns and released it on RCA Records. The album featured performances by Sara Watkins and Stephen Stills' daughter, Jennifer. The album sold over 250,000 copies in the USA and 500,000 worldwide. During a 2005 tour, LaMontagne performed on the TV show Austin City Limits.
An EP of LaMontagne's performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival was released in 2005 and his song "All the Wild Horses" was part of the soundtrack for the TV series Rescue Me and the 2009 film The Boys Are Back. His song "Trouble" appeared in the TV series Alias and his song "Jolene" was heard in the credits of the 2010 film The Town. His song "Hold You in My Arms" was featured in the 2006 movie, She's The Man.
In 2005, he performed at two charity events, a NYC fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and at the "Warren Haynes Christmas Jam".
2006 to the present
left
LaMontagne's second album,
Till the Sun Turns Black, was released in August 2006 and featured horn and string sections on several of the songs with Rachael Yamagata providing additional vocals on the song "Barfly". The album peaked at #28 on the
Billboard 200 album chart, selling 28,000 copies in its first week of release. The album spawned the single, "Three More Days" and in 2006 LaMontagne performed on
The Tonight Show.
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