Ray Rush

Ray Rush is an American songwriter and producer. After early collaborations with Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, Rush moved into producing and promoting records of Texas musicians.

Early life

Rush was born in Oklahoma. From 1941 to 1945, he lived at Weedpatch Camp, a labor camp built to house migrant workers during the Great Depression.[1]

Music career

Rush's music career began while a student at Odessa College, where he sang in a trio called the Roses, serving as a backup vocals on "Think It Over" by Buddy Holly in 1958.[2][3] The Roses accompanied Holly and his band to New York in support of the song.[4] Rush and the Roses sang backup vocals on other Crickets songs, such as "Wild One" in 1958.[5] Rush was promotions manager of an early recording and publishing company formed by Holly, Prism Records.[6]

Rush introduced Roy Orbison to Joe Melson, one of Orbison's most important early collaborators.[7][8] Rush co-wrote "Mama" in 1962 with Orbison.[9]

Rush was one of the founders of Zenith Productions. From 1966 to 1968, Zenith was in litigation with Scepter Records in a contractual dispute over B. J. Thomas. Zenith had recorded one of Thomas's early singles, and claimed contractual interference.[10] Zenith settled in 1968 for $7,500, and Thomas signed with Scepter.[11]

In 1968, Rush was hired by International Artists to revamp their operation.[12] Rush produced several psychedelic rock albums with International Artists in the late 1960's, including The Thirteenth Floor Elevators' Bull of the Woods and songs by Bubble Puppy in 1969.[13] Rush produced records and also managed artists and repertoire with International.[14]

Other

Rush works to preserve and inform others about the experience of Oklahoma migrant workers in California. His song "Leo B. Hart" commemorates the head of the school for children living at Weedpatch Camp. [1] He is on the board of the Dust Bowl Historical Foundation in Bakersfield, California.[1]

Discography

Singles:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pulera, Dominic. Sharing the Dream. 2004. p.210.
  2. ↑ Ray Rush | LoneStarStomp bio
  3. ↑ Dean, Maury. Rock and Roll:Gold Rush. 2003. p.64.
  4. ↑ Gerron, Peggy Sue. Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? 2008. p.279.
  5. ↑ Lergessner, James. "ray+rush"&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uN_oVNuvFeX-sAS69YH4Ag&ved=0CCwQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22ray%20rush%22&f=false Cloudland: Queen of the Dance Halls. 2013. p.128.
  6. ↑ Amburn, Ellis. Buddy Holly: A Biography. 2014.
  7. ↑ Kruth, John. Rhapsody in Black. 2013.
  8. ↑ Escott, Colin. Good Rockin' Tonight. 2011.
  9. ↑ Lehman, Peter. Roy Orbison: Invention of an Alternative Rock Masculinity. 2010. p.198.
  10. ↑ Billboard. "Legal Battle over Thomas". July 9, 1966. p.3.
  11. ↑ Billboard. "Thomas Stays with Scepter". May 4, 1968. p.71.
  12. ↑ Billboard. Int'l Artists Producing in New Expansion Moves. Mar. 15, 1969. p.3.
  13. ↑ Billboard. May 24, 1969. p.76.
  14. ↑ Laurie Jasinski, ed. The Handbook of Texas Music. 2012.
  15. ↑ Ingman, John. A.O.K.: Record Labels of West Texas & New Mexico.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 12, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.