Ryland Peter "Ry" 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, 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, Gordon Lightfoot, Ali Farka Touré, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Neil Young,
Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, David Lindley, The Chieftains, The Doobie Brothers, 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 magazine's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", while a 2010 list by Gibson Guitar Corporation placed him at No. 32. In 2011, he published a collection of short stories called Los Angeles Stories.
Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder's chameleon-like guitar virtuosity, songwriting, and choice of cover material encompass an incredibly eclectic range of North American musical styles from rock & roll, blues, reggae, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, Dixieland jazz, country, folk, R&B, gospel, and vaudeville. Cooder is also an unofficial American cultural ambassador who was partially responsible for bringing together the Cuban musicians known globally as the Buena
Vista Social Club. Further, after a slew of classic records for Warner Bros. during the 1970s and early '80s, including Paradise and Lunch, Into the Purple Valley, and Bop 'til You Drop, he recorded duo offerings with Ali Farka Toure, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and Manuel Galban, to name a few. He is a noteworthy film composer, scoring works for Walter Hill's The Long Riders, Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas and The End of Violence, and Tony Richardson's The Border. He has won six Grammy Awards and been nominated for many more in genres ranging from children's music and folk to Latin (pop and traditional), Americana, and world music. Among his most notable albums in the 21st century are the conceptual Chavez Ravine, San Patricio with the Chieftains, and a series of topical folk outings including My Name's Buddy. 2018's Prodigal Son marked a return to roots rock, while 2022's Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee with Taj Mahal was a tribute offering to Piedmont blues duo Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee.
The 16-year-old Cooder began his career in 1963 in a blues band with Jackie DeShannon and then formed the short-lived Rising Sons in 1965 with Taj Mahal and Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy. Cooder met
producer Terry Melcher through the Rising Sons and was invited to perform at several sessions with Paul Revere & the Raiders. During his subsequent career as a session musician, Cooder's trademark slide guitar work graced the recordings of such artists as Captain Beefheart (Safe as Milk), Randy Newman, Little Feat, Van Dyke Parks, the Rolling Stones (Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers), Taj Mahal, and Gordon Lightfoot. He also appeared on the soundtracks of Candy and Performance.
Cooder made his debut as a solo artist in 1970 with a self-titled album featuring songs by Leadbelly, Blind Willie Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, and Woody Guthrie. The follow-up, Into the Purple Valley, introduced longtime cohorts Jim Keltner on drums and Jim Dickinson on bass, and it and Boomer's
Story largely repeated and refined the syncopated style and mood of the first. In 1974, Cooder produced what is generally regarded as his best album, Paradise and Lunch, and its follow-up, Chicken Skin Music, showcased a potent blend of Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, gospel, and soul, and featured contributions from Flaco Jimenez and Gabby Pahinui. In 1979, Bop 'til You Drop was the first major-label album to be recorded digitally. In the early '80s, Cooder began to augment his solo output with soundtrack work on such films as Blue Collar, The Long Riders, and The Border; he went on to compose music for films such as Paris, Texas, Streets of Fire, Alamo Bay, Blue City, Crossroads, Cocktail, Johnny Handsome, and Steel Magnolias, among others. Music by Ry Cooder (1995) compiled two discs' worth of highlights from Cooder's film work.
In 1992, Cooder joined Keltner, John Hiatt, and renowned British tunesmith Nick Lowe, all of whom
had played on Hiatt's Bring the Family, to form Little Village, which toured and recorded one album. Cooder turned his attention to world music, recording the album A Meeting by the River with Indian musician V.M. Bhatt. Cooder's next project, a duet album with renowned African guitarist Ali Farka Touré titled Talking Timbuktu, won the 1994 Grammy for Best World Music Recording.
His next world crossover would become one of the most popular musical rediscoveries of the 20th century. In 1997, Cooder traveled to Cuba to produce and play with a group of son musicians who had
little exposure outside of their homeland. The resulting album, Buena Vista Social Club, was a platinum-selling international success that made stars of Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Rubén González, and earned Cooder another Grammy. He continued to work on projects with his Buena Vista bandmates, including a collaboration with Manuel Galbán in 2003 titled Mambo Sinuendo. His other work in the 2000s included sessions with James Taylor, Aaron Neville, Warren Zevon, and Spanish diva Luz Casal.
In 2005, Cooder released Chavez Ravine, his first solo album since 1987's Get Rhythm; the album was the first entry in a trilogy of recordings about the disappearance of Los Angeles' cultural history as a
result of gentrification. Chavez Ravine was followed by My Name Is Buddy in 2007, and the final chapter in the saga I, Flathead in 2009. In 2010, Cooder was approached by Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains to produce an album. Moloney had been obsessed with an historical account of the San Patricios, a band of immigrant Irish soldiers who deserted the American Army during the Mexican-American War in 1846 to fight for the other side, against the Manifest Destiny ideology of James Polk's America. Cooder agreed and the result was San Patricio, which brings this fascinatingly complex tale to life.
In early 2011, Cooder was taken by a headline about bankers and other moneyed citizens who'd actually profited from the bank bailouts and resulting mortgage and economic crisis, and wrote the song "No
Banker Left Behind," which became the first song on 2011's Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, an album that reached all the way back to his earliest recordings for musical inspiration while telling topical stories about corruption -- political and social -- the erasure and the rewriting of American history, and an emerging class war. A month after its release, Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti's fabled City Lights publishing house issued Cooder's first collection of short fiction entitled Los Angeles Stories.
He continued to follow his socio-political muse with Election Special, released in the summer of 2012,
and in 2013 released Live in San Francisco, his first live album in 35 years, with Corridos Famosos (son Joachim on percussion, Flaco Jimenez on accordion, Robert Francis on bass, and vocalists Terry Evans, Arnold McCuller, and Juliette Commagere). The ten-piece Mexican brass band La Banda Juvenil also guested. In 2014, Rhino Records offered an epic-scale look at Cooder's work in film scoring with Soundtracks, a seven-disc box set compiled from his movie music of the '80s and '90s.
After playing mainly bluegrass and country-gospel songs with Ricky Skaggs in 2017, Cooder's son, percussionist Joachim, convinced his dad to cut an album of country and blues-gospel songs. The younger Cooder arranged the 11-song set and the guitarist fleshed them out for a band. Entitled The
Prodigal Son, it comprises eight covers including songs by the Pilgrim Travelers, Blind Willie Johnson, Carter Stanley, and three originals. In late March, Cooder released a preview video of an arrangement of the title track recorded live in studio. The Prodigal Son was issued in May 2018 and followed by his first American tour in 15 years; he was backed by his own band (with Joachim on drums and percussion) with backing vocals by the Hamiltones. That same year, he joined the cast for Joachim's album, Fuchsia Machu Picchu.
Cooder and Taj Mahal had been friends since just after high school. They played together in the roots,
blues, and electric rock band Rising Sons during the mid-'60s and Cooder played rhythm guitar (Jesse Ed Davis handled lead) on Mahal's self-titled Columbia debut in 1968. In 2022 they got together again to record Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee for Nonesuch. A tribute to the Piedmont bluesmen, the duo recorded 11 songs live from the studio floor. The material was drawn from the bluesmen's many recordings and live performances. Joachim was the only other musician on the sessions, playing bass and percussion.
By Steve Huey]
Ry Cooder – 1970 - 1987
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 8122796241, Warner Music Group – 8122796241
Format: 11 x CD, Album, Reissue, Box Set, Compilation
Country: Europe
Released: 2013
Genre: Jazz, Rock, Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Blues Rock, Electric Blues, Folk Rock, Rock & Roll
1970 - 1987
1-Ry Cooder (December 1970)
2-Into the Purple Valley (February 1972)
3-Boomer's Story (November 1972)
4-Paradise and Lunch (May 1974)
5-Chicken Skin Music (October 1976)
6-Show Time (January 1977)
7-Jazz (June 1978)
8-Bop till You Drop (August 1979)
9-Borderline (October 1980)
10-The Slide Area (April 1982)
11-Get Rhythm (November 1987)
1. RY COODER 1970
TRACKS
01. Alimony
(Written-By – Brenda Jones, Robert Higginbotham, Welton Young) 2:53
02. France Chance
(Written-By – Joe Callicott) 2:46
03. One Meat Ball
(Written-By – Hy Zaret, Louis Singer) 2:26
04. Do Re Mi
(Written-By – Woody Guthrie) 3:01
05. My Old Kentucky Home (Turpentine & Dandelion Wine)
(Written-By – Randy Newman) 1:44
06. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?
(Written-By – Alfred Reed) 2:44
07. Available Space
(Written-By – Ry Cooder) 2:11
08. Pigmeat
(Written-By – Huddie Ledbetter) 3:05
09. Police Dog Blues
(Written-By – Arthur Blake) 2:43
10. Goin' To Brownsville
(Written-By – John Estes) 3:24
11. Dark Is The Night
(Written-By – Blind Willie Johnson) 2:47
MP3 @ 320
Flac
2. INTO THE PURPLE VALLEY 1972
TRACKS
01. How Can You Keep Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)
(Written-By – Agnes Cunningham) 2:25
02. Billy The Kid
(Adapted By – Ry Cooder) 3:45
03. Money Honey
(Written-By – Jesse Stone) 3:28
04. F.D.R. In Trinidad
(Written-By – Fitz Maclean) 3:01
05. Teardrops Will Fall
(Written-By – Dickey Doo, Marion Smith) 3:03
06. Denomination Blues
(Written-By – Washington Phillips) 3:58
07. On A Monday
(Written-By – Huddie Ledbetter) 2:52
08. Hey Porter
(Written-By – Johnny Cash) 4:34
09. Great Dream From Heaven
(Written-By – Joseph Spence) 1:53
10. Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Us All
(Adapted By – Ry Cooder) 3:52
11. Vigilante Man
(Written-By – Woody Guthrie) 4:15
3. BOOMER'S STORY 1972
TRACKS
01. Boomer's Story
(Adapted By – Ry Cooder
Written-By – Traditional) 4:15
02. Cherry Ball Blues
(Written-By – Skip James) 4:13
03. Crow Black Chicken
(Written-By – Lawrence Wilson) 2:20
04. Ax Sweet Mama
(Written-By – Sleepy John Estes) 4:27
05. Maria Elena
(Written-By – Lorenzo Barcelata) 4:32
06. Dark End Of The Street
(Written-By – Chips Moman, Dan Penn) 3:27
07. Rally 'Round The Flag
(Written-By – George F. Root, Traditional) 3:40
08. Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer
(Written-By – Harold Adamson, Jimmy McHugh) 3:03
09. President Kennedy
(Written-By – Sleepy John Estes) 4:38
10. Good Morning Mr. Railroad Man
(Written-By – Traditional) 4:31
4. PARADISE AND LUNCH 1974
TRACKS
01. Tamp 'Em Up Solid
(Written-By – Traditional) 3:19
02. Tattler
(Written-By – Russ Titelman, Ry Cooder, Washington Phillips) 4:14
03. Married Man's A Fool
(Written-By – Willie McTell) 3:10
04. Jesus On The Mainline 4:09
05. It's All Over Now
(Written-By – Bobby Womack, Shirley Womack) 4:49
06. Medley: Fool For A Cigarette / Feelin' Good
(Written-By [Feelin' ...] – J.B. Lenoir, Jim Dickinson
Written-By [Fool ...] – Sidney Bailey) 4:25
07. If Walls Could Talk
(Written-By – Bobby Miller) 3:12
08. Mexican Divorce
(Written-By – Bob Hilliard, Burt Bacharach) 3:51
09. Ditty Wah Ditty
(Piano – Earl Hines
Written-By – Arthur Blake) 5:42
MP3 @ 320
Flac
5. CHICKEN SKIN MUSIC 1976
TRACKS
01. The Bourgeois Blues
(Bajo Sexto, Mandola, Slide Guitar [Bottleneck], Accordion [French Accordion], Vocals – Ry Cooder
Percussion – Milt Holland
Written-By – Huddie Ledbetter) 3:22
02. I Got Mine
(Baritone Horn, Arranged By [Horns] – George Bohanon
Bass – Chris Ethridge
Cornet – Oscar Brashear
Drums – Jim Keltner, Milt Holland
Tenor Saxophone – Fred Jackson Jr.
Trombone – Benny Powell
Vocals, Electric Guitar, Mandola – Ry Cooder) 4:28
03. Always Lift Him Up / Kanaka Wai Wai
(Bass – Chris Ethridge
Drums – Jim Keltner, Milt Holland
Guitar, Tiple, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Vocals – Bobby King, Herman Johnson, Terry Evans
Written-By – Alfred Reed) 6:01
04. He'll Have To Go
(Accordion – Flaco Jimenez
Alto Saxophone – Pat Rizzo
Bajo Sexto, Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Red Callender
Drums – Jim Keltner
Percussion – Milt Holland
Vocals – Bobby King
Written-By – Allison, Allison) 5:07
05. Smack Dab In The Middle
(Bass – Chris Ethridge
Drums – Jim Keltner
Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar [Bottleneck], Mandolin, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Percussion – Milt Holland
Vocals – Bobby King, Cliff Givens, James Adams, Terry Evans
Written-By – Charles E. Calhoun) 3:18
06. Stand By Me
(Accordion – Flaco Jimenez
Bajo Sexto – Russ Titelman
Bass – Chris Ethridge
Electric Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Percussion – Milt Holland
Vocals – Bobby King, Herman Johnson, Terry Evans
Written-By – Ben E. King) 3:38
07. Yellow Roses
(Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Red Callender
Drums – Milt Holland
Guitar [Slack-key] – Atta Isaacs
Steel Guitar, Vocals – Gabby Pahinui
Tiple, Guitar [Slack Key] – Ry Cooder
Written-By – K. Devine, S. Nichols) 6:11
08. Chloe
(Acoustic Guitar – Atta Isaacs
Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Red Callender
Drums – Milt Holland
Mandolin, Guitar [Hawaiian] – Ry Cooder
Steel Guitar – Gabby Pahinui
Written-By – Gus Cahn, Neil Moret) 3:00
09. Goodnight Irene
(Accordion – Flaco Jimenez
Alto Saxophone – Frank Villarreal
Bajo Sexto – Hugo Gonzales
Bass – Henry "Red" Ojeda
Drums – Isaac Garcia
Written-By – Huddie Ledbetter, John Lomax) 4:32
MP3 @ 320
Flac
6. SHOW TIME 1977
TRACKS
01. School Is Out (Percussion – Milt Holland) 2:37
02. Alimony 4:44
03. Jesus On The Mainline 5:27
04. The Dark End Of The Street 6:43
05. Viva Sequin / Do Re Mi 5:24
06. Volver, Volver 4:49
07. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live 6:40
08. Smack Dab In The Middle 8:00
MP3 @ 320
Flac
7. JAZZ 1978
TRACKS
01. Big Bad Bill Is Sweet William Now (Cornet – Mario Guarneri) 3:34
02. Face To Face That I Shall Meet Him (Cornet – Oscar Brashear) 3:16
03. The Pearls / Tia Juana 4:18
04. The Dream 5:03
05. Happy Meeting In Glory (Cornet – Oscar Brashear) 3:13
06. In A Mist 2:05
07. Flashes 2:17
08. Davenport Blues 2:01
09. Shine 3:43
10. Nobody 5:07
11. We Shall Be Happy (Cornet – Oscar Brashear) 3:13
MP3 @ 320
Flac
8. BOP TILL YOU DROP 1979
TRACKS
01. Little Sister
(Backing Vocals – Bobby King, Herman Johnson
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley
Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Written-By – M. Shuman/D. Pomus) 3:49
02. Go Home, Girl
(Backing Vocals – Bobby King, Randy Lorenzo
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley
Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Organ – Patrick Henderson
Percussion – Milt Holland
Written-By – A. Alexander) 5:09
03. The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)
(Backing Vocals – Bill Johnson, Bobby King, Cliff Givins, Greg Prestopino, Jimmy Adams, Pico Payne
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley
Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Percussion – Milt Holland
Written-By – S. Bailey) 5:32
04. I Think It's Going To Work Out Fine
(Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley, Ry Cooder
Percussion – Milt Holland
Written-By – R. McCoy, S. McKinney) 4:43
05. Down In Hollywood
(Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley, Ry Cooder
Organ – Ronnie Barron
Percussion – Milt Holland
Vocals – Bobby King, Chaka Khan, Ry Cooder
Written-By – R. Cooder, T. Drummond) 4:17
06. Look At Granny Run Run
(Backing Vocals – Bobby King
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley
Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Written-By – J. Ragovoy, M. Shuman) 3:08
07. Trouble, You Can't Fool Me
(Backing Vocals – Bobby King, George "Biggie" McFadden, Jimmy Adams
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner, Milt Holland
Guitar – David Lindley
Guitar, Vocals – Ry Cooder
Written-By – A. Varnell, F. Knight)
4:55
08. Don't You Mess Up A Good Thing
(Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – David Lindley, Ronnie Barron, Ry Cooder
Percussion – Milt Holland
Vocals – Chaka Khan, Ry Cooder
Written-By – O. Sain) 4:02
09. I Can't Win
(Backing Vocals – Herman Johnson, Ry Cooder
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Guitar – Ry Cooder
Organ – Ronnie Barron
Vocals – Bobby King
Written-By – C. Knight, D. Richardson, L. Johnson) 4:15
MP3 @ 320
Flac
9. BORDERLINE
TRACKS
01. 634-5789
(Written-By – Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper) 2:56
02. Speedo
(Written-By – Esther Navarro) 3:20
03. Why Don't You Try Me
(Written-By – E. Young) 4:54
04. Down In The Boondocks
(Written-By – Joe South) 3:21
05. Johnny Porter
(Written-By – William Cuomo, Bobby Ray Appleberry) 5:21
06. The Way We Make A Broken Heart
(Written-By – John Hiatt) 4:28
07. Crazy 'Bout An Automobile (Every Woman I Know)
(Written-By – William R. Emerson) 5:03
08. The Girls From Texas
(Written-By – Cliff Chambers, Jimmy Holiday, James Lewis) 4:40
09. Borderline
(Written-By – Ry Cooder) 3:19
10. Never Make Your Move Too Soon
(Written-By – Nesbert Hooper jr., Will Jennings) 6:08
MP3 @ 320
Flac
10. THE SLIDE AREA 1982
TRACKS
01. U F O Has Landed In The Ghetto
(Bass – Tim Drummond
Written-By – Jim Keltner, Ry Cooder) 5:00
02. I Need A Woman
(Bass – Tim Drummond
Written-By – Bob Dylan) 4:34
03. Gypsy Woman
(Bass – Chuck Rainey
Percussion – Ras Baboo Pierre
Written-By – Curtis Mayfield) 4:20
04. Blue Suede Shoes
(Backing Vocals – George McFadden
Bass – Tim Drummond
Piano – Jim Dickinson
Written-By – Carl Perkins) 5:18
05. Mama, Don't Treat Your Daughter Mean
(Backing Vocals – George McFadden
Bass – Tim Drummond
Electric Piano – Jim Dickinson
Shakuhachi – Kazu Matsui
Written-By – Ry Cooder) 5:55
06. I'm Drinking Again
(Bass – Reggie McBride
Vocals – Jim Keltner, John Hiatt, Ry Cooder
Written-By – Jim Keltner, Ry Cooder) 4:34
07. Which Came First
(Bass – Tim Drummond
Organ – Jim Dickinson
Shakuhachi – Kazu Matsui
Written-By – Ry Cooder, Willie Dixon) 3:44
08. That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me
(Arranged By [Strings], Conductor [Strings] – Nick De Caro
Bass – Reggie McBride
Guitar – John Hiatt
Written-By – Dave Hall, Quinton Claunch, Ry Cooder) 5:46
MP3 @ 320
Flac
11. GET RHYTHM 1987
TRACKS
01. Get Rhythm (Written-By – Johnny Cash) 3:16
02. Low - Commotion (Written-By – Jim Keltner, Ry Cooder) 3:09
03. Going Back To Okinawa (Written-By – Ry Cooder) 4:41
04. 13 Question Method (Written-By – Chuck Berry) 3:37
05. Women Will Rule The World (Written-By – Raymond Quevedo) 5:50
06. All Shook Up (Written-By – Elvis Presley, Otis Blackwell) 3:31
07. I Can Tell By The Way You Smell (Written-By – Walter Davis) 4:31
08. Across The Borderline (Written-By – Jim Dickinson, John Hiatt, Ry Cooder) 6:15
09. Let's Have A Ball (Written-By – Bunn) 5:52
