Ryan Bingham

For the fictional character, see Up in the Air (2009 film).
Ryan Bingham
Birth name George Ryan Bingham
Born (1981-03-31) March 31, 1981
Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S.
Genres Americana,[1] Roots rock,[2]
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 2006–present
Labels Axster Bingham Records, Lost Highway Records
Website binghammusic.com

George Ryan Bingham (born March 31, 1981) is an Americana[3] singer-songwriter currently based in Los Angeles, California.[4]

After receiving critical acclaim for his first two studio releases on Lost Highway Records, 2007's Mescalito and 2009's Roadhouse Sun, Bingham went on to collaborate with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett on the soundtrack for the 2009 acclaimed film Crazy Heart, including notably co-writing and performing the film's award-winning theme song, "The Weary Kind". The title track earned Bingham an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Critics' Choice Award for "Best Song" in 2010,[5] as well as a Grammy Award for "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media" in 2011.[6] The Americana Music Association also honored Bingham with the organization's top award in 2010 as "Artist of the Year".[7]

Bingham joined back up with his band the Dead Horses to release their third studio album, Junky Star, on August 31, 2010. The album debuted in the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 Chart[8] & in the Top 10 on the Billboard Rock Album Chart,[9] making Junky Star Bingham’s highest charting and most successful release to date.

In 2012, Bingham parted ways with the Dead Horses and record label Lost Highway Records to release his fourth studio album, Tomorrowland, on his own Axster Bingham Records label.[10]

In 2013, Bingham wrote and recorded "Until I'm One With You", the theme song for FX TV drama series The Bridge. The song is Bingham's first screen track since his Academy Award win for best theme song in 2010. "Until I'm One With You" was released as a digital single on Bingham's own Axster Bingham Records label on June 25, 2013.[11]

Bingham released his fifth studio album, Fear and Saturday Night, on Axster Bingham Records on January 20, 2015. The album was produced by Jim Scott at Plyrz Studio outside of Los Angeles, California.

Early life

Bingham was born in Hobbs, New Mexico, grew up in West Texas and went to high school in Houston, Texas, at Westfield High School.

Bingham got his first guitar as a 16-year-old when his mother bought him one. At the time, they were living in Texas. Although he was fascinated by music, he left his guitar dormant in his closet for around a year, until Bingham's old neighbor, whom he used to drink beer with at his back porch, taught him a classical Mariachi song called "La Malaguena" in segments. Soon, he moved to the Fort Worth area in Texas, and with growing interest in playing music, he started seeking new songs to learn. Bingham started playing gigs in bars that he and his friends used to hang out in and that's how his career as a musician initially began.[12]

Career

After issuing self released "Wishbone Saloon" and "Dead Horses", the latter distributed by Lone Star Music, Bingham was signed to Lost Highway Records, who issued his first major label debut with Mescalito on October 2, 2007, produced by former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford. Texas Music Magazine has opined that "Bingham talks and sings with a whiskey-and-cigarette throat that screams hard living. Hard in a way that can make a 29-year-old sound like a 50-year-old Tom Waits."[13]

Bingham spent several years on the rodeo circuit: He began bullriding in his late teens.[14] His family moved several times, from Hobbs to Spring and Stephenville, Texas.[15]

Bingham's bandmates, The Dead Horses, are Matthew Smith (drums), Corby Schaub (guitar and mandolin) and Elijah Ford (bass). The bass player on Mescalito was Jeb Stuart. They appeared with the Drive-by Truckers on the PBS show Austin City Limits in October 2007.

The first single from Mescalito, entitled "Southside of Heaven," was released on November 30, 2007. The next single was entitled "Bread and Water."

On June 2, 2009, Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses released their second album titled Roadhouse Sun via Lost Highway Records. It was once again produced by Marc Ford.

Ryan Bingham from his 2009 release - Roadhouse Sun

Bingham performed two songs for the soundtrack of the movie Crazy Heart, including "I Don't Know," and the theme song, "The Weary Kind." In addition to these performances, Bingham wrote "The Weary Kind" and was produced by T Bone Burnett. He also had a small role in the film as Tony. On January 17, 2010, Bingham was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "The Weary Kind" at the 2010 Golden Globe Awards. The song won Best Original Song[16] at the 2010 82nd Academy Awards,[17] as well as Song of the Year at the 9th Annual Americana Music Association awards.[18]

Bingham's third major label release, Junky Star, was released on Lost Highway Records on August 31, 2010.

On September 18, 2012 Bingham co-produced and released his fourth studio album Tomorrowland on Axster Bingham Records. The first single released from Tomorrowland is "Heart of Rhythm." Both the single and the official lyric video debuted on Americansongwriter.com on July 30, 2012.[19]

Bingham’s second Tomorrowland single "Guess Who’s Knockin" debuted on Rollingstone.com on September 6, 2012.[20] The official music video for "Guess Who’s Knocking" premiered on Pastmagazine.com October 4, 2012.[21]

Reception

Bingham has appeared as a guest on Bob Harris's Country Show on the BBC's Radio 2. Daryl Easlea, writing for the BBC's folk and country review, said "Bingham will be one of the names to drop in 2008, with an album that sounds as if it's been unearthed from 1972."[22]

Rolling Stone magazine gave Mescalito three out of five stars and wrote that Bingham "earns his sepia-toned album cover with a dusty wood-and-steel sound, and despite being twenty-five, sings like Steve Earle's dad." [23]

PopMatters review of Tomorrowland awarded the album with 8 out of 10 stars. Greg M. Scwartz, writing for Popmatters wrote, that “The one-time pro rodeo rider turned Texas troubadour has blues, country, and Americana influences that are certainly still there. But at his core, Bingham has always been a rock ‘n’ roller and Tomorrowland features him rocking at his best.” [24]

Tomorrowland was also reviewed by Nico Isaac from Paste (magazine). Isaac wrote: “Tomorrowland is like a good, ol’ fashioned rock anthem of kiss-my-asschaps autonomy… One things for sure Tomorrowland- the album and the red-blooded, rattlesnake-eating rebellious attitude—is no place for the weary kind.” [10]

Personal life

Bingham currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Anna Axter, who also directed his music videos.[25][26] He announced at his performance in Austin, TX on March 5, 2015 that he and his wife are expecting their first child in the summer of 2015. Bingham's song "Broken Heart Tattoo" from Fear And Saturday Night is a reflection about what he would like to say to his unborn child. [27]

Ryan's mother drank herself to death and his father committed suicide. Bingham's "Never Far Behind" from his "Tomorrowland" album is about his parents.[28]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Country
[29]		 US
[30]		 US
Folk
[31]		 US
Rock
[32]		 US
Heat
[33]		 US
Indie
[34]
Mescalito — — — — 37 —
Roadhouse Sun
  • Release date: June 2, 2009
  • Label: Lost Highway Records
  • Formats: LP, CD, music download
 17 65 — — — —
Junky Star
  • Release date: August 31, 2010
  • Label: Lost Highway Records
  • Formats: LP, CD, music download
 2 19 — 8 — —
Tomorrowland
  • Release date: September 18, 2012
  • Label: Axster/Bingham Records
  • Formats: LP, CD, music download
 7 36 — 16 — 8
Fear and Saturday Night
  • Release date: January 20, 2015
  • Label: Axster/Bingham Records
  • Formats: LP, CD, music download
 — 47 3 9 — 7
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Extended plays

Title Album details Peak positions
US Country
[29]
iTunes Live: SXSW
  • Release date: March 18, 2011
  • Label: Lost Highway Records
  • Formats: CD, music download
 64

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
US
[35]
2010 "The Weary Kind" 116 Crazy Heart (soundtrack)
"Depression" — Junky Star
2012 "The Wandering“ — N/A
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
2007 "Southside of Heaven" Anna Axster
2008 "Bread and Water"
2009 "Country Roads"
2010 "The Weary Kind" Danny Clinch
2012 "Heart of Rhythm" Anna Axster
2012 "Guess Who's Knocking" Anna Axster

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Crazy Heart Tony Academy Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Song
World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film
2015 Your Right Mind Post-production

References

  1. ↑ "iTunes album review". September 18, 2012.
  2. ↑ Greg M. Schwartz (October 23, 2012). "PopMatters.com review".
  3. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Biography - AOL Music". Music.aol.com. 1981-03-31. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  4. ↑ Martinez, Jose (October 2010). "Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses On the Road... Again". Venice Magazine. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  5. ↑ 2010 ACL Festival: Ryan Bingham Official Bio Archived April 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Kennedy, Gerrick (13 February 2011). "Grammy Awards: Ryan Bingham nabs a trophy, still puts on pants 'one leg at a time'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Talbott, Chris (9 September 2010). "Ryan Bingham Wins Big at Americana Awards". USA Today. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Billboard Chart: Junky Star Chart History
  9. ↑ Billboard Chart: Top-Selling Rock Albums Week of September 18, 2010
  10. 1 2 Nico Isaac, , "Paste Magazine article", 09/18/12
  11. ↑ Phil Gallo, "Ryan Bingham Pens Theme For FX's 'Bridge'; First Screen Track Since Oscar Win", billboard.com, 06/25/13
  12. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Interviewed by 3DotMag".
  13. ↑ "Ryan Bingham's website, quoting the magazine article". Binghammusic.com. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  14. ↑ McCartney, Kelly. "Pop Matters website interview with Ryan Bingham". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  15. ↑ "Artists : Artists A to Z : Ryan Bingham Biography : Great American Country". Gactv.com. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  16. ↑ "Oscar nominations announced". ew.com. 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Jeff Bridges, Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett Win Oscars for Crazy Heart". cmt.com. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  18. ↑ "ARTISTRY WINS DURING 9th ANNUAL AMERICANA MUSIC ASSOCIATION HONORS & AWARDS, Ryan also played at the ACL festival in 2011". sesac.com. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  19. ↑ Evan Schlansky, , "American Songwriter article", 07/30/12
  20. ↑ , "RollingStone Magazine post" 09/06/12
  21. ↑ Ryan Bort, , "Paste Magazine article", 10/04/12
  22. ↑ BBC - Folk and Country Review - Ryan Bingham, Mescalito
  23. ↑ "Mescalito : Ryan Bingham : Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  24. ↑ Greg M. Schwartz, "PopMatters.com review", 10/23/12
  25. ↑ Gold, Scott. "Raw and Genuine". http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/30/entertainment/ca-bingham30. LA Times. External link in |work= (help)
  26. ↑ Smyers, Darryl (2010-10-07). "Q&A: Ryan Bingham Talks Growing Up in Texas, Sharing His Name with George Clooney and Coming to Grips With Winning an Oscar | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  27. ↑ from an interview on Americana Music Show #238, published March 24, 2015
  28. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PLUyADYR_w. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. 1 2 "Ryan Bingham Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  30. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  31. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Album & Song Chart History - Folk Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Album & Song Chart History - Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  33. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  34. ↑ "Ryan Bingham Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  35. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 83. ISBN 0-89820-188-8.

External links

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