Sun Ra
Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, legal name Le Sony'r Ra; May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993) was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his experimental music, "cosmic philosophy," prolific output, and theatrical performances. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979.
Born in Alabama in 1914, Blount would eventually become involved in the 1940s Chicago jazz scene. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Sun Ra (Ra being the Egyptian God of the Sun) and developing a complex persona and mythology that would make him a pioneer of Afrofuturism: he claimed he was an alien from Saturn, and throughout his life, he consistently denied any ties to his prior identity. His compositions ranged from keyboard solos to big bands of over 30 musicians, and his widely experimental and eclectic music would eventually touch on virtually the entire history of jazz, from ragtime to swing music, from bebop to free jazz. From the mid-1950s to his death, Ra led "The Arkestra", an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up (although certain core members remained with the group through its various incarnations, including Marshal Allen, John Gilmore, June Tyson). Its performances often included dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate, futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the space age.
Sun Ra discography
The Sun Ra discography is one of the largest discographies in music history. The American jazz keyboardist, bandleader and composer Sun Ra recorded dozens of singles and over one hundred full-length albums, comprising well over 1000 songs, and making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century.
History
His own El Saturn Records albums were usually printed in editions of 75 copies per album, and were sold primarily at live performances. Many of Sun Ra's early albums were recorded at home by Ra himself on wire or early tape recorders, and are decidedly lo-fi. Despite the technological limitations, Ra used some innovative recording techniques, and these recordings provided an unprecedented level of documentation, and were inspirational in showing how artists could take control of the means of production and distribution of their works.
Prior to the 1970s, most of these albums were produced in Chicago through the "El Saturn Records Research" enterprise established by Ra and his colleague Alton Abraham, while later El Saturn Records were produced in Philadelphia. A batch of the most significant recordings were licensed to Impulse! Records in the mid-1970s. They were not as successful as hoped, and were deleted from the Impulse catalog, becoming available around the world as inexpensive "cut-outs" and making the music more widely available.
Podcasts:
Sun Ra
ALBUMS
- Other Strange Worlds released: 2014
- Art Yard in a Box released: 2012
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra released: 2010
- Live in Cleveland released: 2009
- The Antique Blacks released: 2009
- Cosmos released: 2008
- Towards the Stars: Pioneering in 1955-56 released: 2007
- Heliocentric Worlds, Volume 3: The Lost Tapes released: 2005
- Piano Recital: Teatro la Fenice released: 2003
- Spaceship Lullaby released: 2003
- Visions released: 2000
- Standards released: 2000
- Janus released: 2000
- Concert for the Comet Kohoutek released: 2000
- The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums released: 2000
- Lanquidity released: 2000
- Somewhere Else released: 1998
- The Singles released: 1996
- Purple Night released: 1990
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume 1 released: 1990
- Blue Delight released: 1989
- Hidden Fire 2 released: 1988
- Hidden Fire 1 released: 1988
- John Cage Meets Sun Ra released: 1987
- Cosmo Sun Connection released: 1985
- Ra to the Rescue released: 1983
- Oblique Parallax released: 1982
- Aurora Borealis released: 1981
- New Steps released: 1978
- Solo Piano, Volume 1 released: 1977
- Space Is the Place released: 1973
- Astro Black released: 1972
- Nothing Is... released: 1970
- Monorails and Satellites released: 1968
- Rocket Number Nine Take Off for the Planet Venus released: 1967
- Sun Song released: 1967
- The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra released: 1961
- Les Genies Du Jazz (Tome 6, No. 10): Sun Ra (And His Arkestra) released:
- Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Vol.2 released:
- Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Vol.1 released:
- The Creator of the Universe released:
- What's New? released:
- St. Louis Blues (Solo Piano) released:
- Hiroshima released:
- Calling Planet Earth released:
- My Brother the Wind II released:
- Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold released:
- The Other Side of the Sun released:
- The Singles 1960-1982 released:
- The Singles 1954-1960 released:
Spaceship Lullaby
Released 2003- Spaceship Lullaby
- Stranger in Paradise
- Just One of Those Things
- Honky Tonk
- Haunted Heart
- Evelyn
- Honeysuckle Rose
- Honey
- Black Sky & Blue Moon
- Ra Coaching Roland Williams
- Holiday for Strings (Ra Dynamics demo)
- Holiday for Strings
- I Fall Asleep Counting My Blessings
- Nice Work If You Can Get It
- Somebody Loves Me
- Chicago USA
- Chicago USA
- C'est si bon
- Blue Moon
- Baby Please Be Mine
- Blue Skies
- My Only Love
- A Foggy Day
- A Perfume Counter
- Love Is...
- Wordless Piece
- I Was Wrong
- Louise
- St. Louis Blues
- The Wooden Soldier & The China Doll
- Africa
- Somebody's in Love
- Bye Bye
- Black Sky & Blue Moon
- Honey
- Honey
- Come Rain or Come Shine
The Singles
Released 1996- A Foggy Day
- Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie (demo version)
- Dreaming
- Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie (studio version)
- Bye Bye
- Somebody's in Love
- Medicine for a Nightmare
- Saturn
- Supersonic Jazz
- Happy New Year to You
- It's Christmas Time
- Muck Muck (Matt Matt)
- Hot Skillet Mama
- Great Balls of Fire
- Hours After
- Teenager's Letter of Promises
- I'm So Glad You Love Me
- The Sun One
- The Sun Man Speaks
- The Sun Man Speaks (alternate take)
- October
- Adventure in Space
- Message to Earthman
- Message to Earthman (alternate take)
- State Street
The Singles 1960-1982
- The Blue Set
- Big City Blues
- Tell Her to Come on Home
- I'm Making Believe
- The Bridge
- Rocket #9
- Blues on Planet Mars
- Saturn Moon
- The Sky Is Crying
- She's My Baby
- I Am Gonna Unmask the Batman
- I Want an Easy Woman
- The Perfect Man
- Journey to Saturn
- Enlightenment
- Love in Outer Space
- Mayan Temple
- Disco 2000
- Sky Blues
- Rough House Blues
- Cosmo-Extensions
- Quest
- Outer Space Plateau
The Singles 1954-1960
- A Foggy Day
- Dreaming
- Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie
- Bye Bye
- Somebody's in Love
- Medicine for a Nightmare
- Saturn
- Supersonic Jazz
- Happy New Year to You
- It's Christmas Time
- Muck Muck (Matt Matt)
- Hot Skillet Mama
- Great Balls of Fire
- Hours After
- Teenager's Letter of Promises
- I'm So Glad You Love Me
- The Sun One
- The Sun Man Speaks
- The Sun Man Speaks
- October
- Adventure in Space
- Message to Earthman
- Message to Earthman
- State Street
Born: 1914-05-22
Died: 1993-05-30
-
by Deus
Sun Ra
by: DeusWould you go outside?
Asked you to leave
I had enough of this ruckus
I wanna sleep
You say you're feeling lonely
I got to agree
I feel it coming slowly, slowly to me
Here comes, here comes the night train
And here comes, here comes the night train
Making a point in conversations
That I'll never hold
Protect myself from rumors
That I'll never be told
Choking on beauty
I usually don't even see
I'm living life through someone else
Looking at me
Here comes, here comes the night train
And here comes, here comes the night train
And here comes, here comes the night train
Now, all the evil thoughts I had
And all the harm I ever did
Stand right before me, eyes wide open
Where were they hidden?
I'm gonna rip it up
Bring it down, send it to hell
I hope somebody teach me something new
Somebody as guilty as me can break this spell
Here comes, here comes the night train
(Make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop)
Here comes, here comes the night train
(Make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop)
Here comes, here comes the night train
(Make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop, it's on again)
Get up, put up, open your eyes
Let the black blooded vein
Come to your brain
Angels 'round here don't sing
They have a curse upon me
(Make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop, it's on again)
Get up, put up, open your eyes
Let the black blooded vein
Come to your brain
Angels 'round here don't sing
They have a curse upon me
(Make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop, it's on again)
Get up, put up, open your eyes
Let the black blooded vein
Come to your brain
Angels 'round here don't sing
They have a curse upon me
(Just make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop, it's on again)
Get up, put up, open your eyes
Let the black blooded vein
Come to your brain
Angels 'round here don't sing
They have a curse upon me
(Make it stop, oh, I can't make it stop, it's on again)
The shame, the lovers
The tricks, the blessings
The rebound, the future is used
It feels like you used it up
I look at you, I pity you
I dream of you, what are you?
Drop a name, leave it there
Bruise a heart, leave it there
Pay the entrance, leave it there
Get some style, cut your hair
Shouldn't be this, shouldn't be that
Take the heat, take a free kick, man
Try to get a grip on these times
'Cause the harder that I chase
The harder you're running
You don't have to be