Ray LaMontagne

Biography

Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. 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 that of Otis Redding, Ryan Adams, Beck, Pink Floyd, The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake and Tim Buckley.

Early life, family and education

LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973, one of six children raised by his single mother. In his early teens he lived in Morgan, Utah, and was more interested in drawing images of Dungeons & Dragons than in his school work.
After graduating from high school, LaMontagne moved to Lewiston, Maine, and worked at a shoe factory. LaMontagne also spent a significant amount of time in Wilton, Maine. Other sources state that by his teen years he was living in Maine, spending time in Turner and Buckfield.

1999–2005: Trouble

LaMontagne was inspired to quit his job and begin a career as a singer-songwriter after waking up one morning to the radio on his alarm clock playing the Stephen Stills' song "Treetop Flyer". LaMontagne began performing in 1999 while maintaining a part-time job as a tutor. In the summer of 1999 he recorded 10 songs for a demo album that was sent to various local music venues including Maine's Oddfellow Theater, where he was hired as an opening act for John Gorka and Jonathan Edwards.
Ron Clayton, a business executive, discovered LaMontagne at a musical festival in Maine and introduced him to Chrysalis Music Publishing and in 2004 LaMontagne recorded the album Trouble×Trouble15 August 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Trouble4:022Shelter4:373Hold You in My Arms5:064Narrow Escape4:395Burn2:546Forever My Friend5:457Hannah5:438How Come4:339Jolene4:1110All the Wild Horses3:16 with producer Ethan Johns and sold it to RCA Records in the US and Echo Records in the UK. The album featured performances by Sara Watkins and Jennifer Stills, daughter of Stephen Stills. The album sold over 250,000 copies in the US and 500,000 worldwide. During a 2005 tour, LaMontagne appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits (season 31, episode 4).
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" appears in the TV series Alias as well as in a national television commercial for Travelers Insurance, and his song "Jolene×Jolene2 April 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Jolene (radio edit)3:52" 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 New York City fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam.

2006: Till The Sun Turns Black

LaMontagne's second album, Till the Sun Turns Black×Till the Sun Turns Black29 August 2006 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Be Here Now6:232Empty5:173Barfly3:554Three More Days3:375Can I Stay3:426You Can Bring Me Flowers4:127Gone Away From Me4:278Lesson Learned4:409Truly, Madly, Deeply1:5310Till the Sun Turns Black4:2911Within You5:43, 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 No. 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×Three More Days20 August 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Three More Days2In a Station". In 2006 LaMontagne performed on The Tonight Show.
The song "Till the Sun Turns Black" was featured on the television show ER, and the songs "Lesson Learned" and "Within You" appeared on the CW drama One Tree Hill. His song "Be Here Now×Be Here Now18 June 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Be Here Now2Be Here Now (live)" was heard on the trailer for the movie Away From Her, in the film 27 Dresses, on the TV shows Bones, Covert Affairs, New Amsterdam, and Brothers & Sisters. LaMontagne performed at KYSR's Lounge for Life charity concert on October 5, 2006, at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. He also auctioned off one of his guitars on eBay for its charity auction. Funds raised from the concert and auction went to breast cancer research.

2008–2009: Gossip in The Grain

LaMontagne released his third studio album, Gossip in the Grain×Gossip in the Grain14 October 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1You Are the Best Thing3:552Let It Be Me4:413Sarah4:314I Still Care for You4:075Winter Birds6:206Meg White4:167Hey Me, Hey Mama4:278Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a Shame)4:259A Falling Through4:2810Gossip in the Grain3:59, on RCA Records in 2008. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts with 60,000 units sold. Working again with producer Ethan Johns, the album featured LaMontagne's touring band of Jennifer Condos on bass, Eric Heywood on guitar, and Ethan Johns on drums and guest vocals from singer-songwriter Leona Naess.

The song "You Are the Best Thing×You Are the Best Thing26 August 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You Are the Best Thing3:51" was featured in the movie I Love You, Man and in the television series One Tree Hill. LaMontagne performed on Saturday Night Live in March 2009. The songs "Sarah" and "I Still Care For You" appeared on the television series House. His song "Let It Be Me×Let It Be Me12 August 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Let It Be Me4:40" was featured on the television series Parenthood and was included on the Parenthood soundtrack in 2010. It was also used in an episode titled "JJ" from the sixth season of Criminal Minds and in the seventh episode from season one of Fringe titled In Which We Meet Mr. Jones.

2010–2011: God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise

LaMontagne's self-produced studio album, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise, was released in August 2010. In December 2010, LaMontagne received Grammy nominations and won the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
In August 2010, he performed at a Nashville, Tennessee, charity event to raise money for victims of a local flood. The song, "Empty", appeared on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2010 and was heard during the film credits for the movie The Conspirator. It also appeared in Tony Kaye's film Detachment in 2011, released in the US in 2012. LaMontagne performed on the program Live from Abbey Road in October 2006. The New England native was featured on VH1 Storytellers in 2011.
In 2011 LaMontagne sang a duet with Irish singer Lisa Hannigan, "O Sleep", which was featured on her Choice Music Award-nominated album Passenger.

2014–2015: Supernova

In April 2014 LaMontagne released his fifth album, Supernova×Supernova29 April 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks1Lavender4:262Airwaves4:423She's the One3:184Pick Up a Gun5:065Julia3:216No Other Way3:387Supernova3:558Ojai4:369Smashing4:4110Drive-In Movies5:03. The album reached No. 2 on iTunes in the first several hours of its release. The album then went to number one on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. It was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and recorded at his Nashville studio. The title track was made available for download on ITunes and Google Play Music on February 25, 2014. On October 9, 2014, LaMontagne spoke and performed at the Grammy Museum
Supernova garnered generally positive reception from music critics. At Rolling Stone, Will Hermes rated the album three and a half stars out of five, stating, "Predictably, [Dan] Auerbach [as producer] helps the singer pull bright colors from the Sixties' crayon box; less predictably, he makes it seem a perfectly logical progression of LaMontagne's 10-plus years of cozy vibes." Thom Jurek of AllMusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five, writing that "Supernova is unapologetically and indulgently retro; a casual listen might dismiss it as mere nostalgia"; however, the "pairing [of] Auerbach's detailed, careful production with LaMontagne's open, expertly crafted songwriting and breezy, sensual, emotionally unburdened singing, that boundary is shattered." At The Guardian, Dave Simpson rated the album four stars out of five, remarking, "There's nothing here that's exactly new, but by assembling an array of unexpected influences in one blissful place, LaMontagne has crafted an unlikely perfect summer soundtrack."
On July 23, 2014, during a show at the Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan, LaMontagne interrupted a song and walked off stage as a result of two fans talking during his concert, after having previously asked the audience to quiet down. The incident included yelling profanity at the couple before walking off stage. Once the couple was escorted away, LaMontagne continued the concert.
At The A.V. Club, Chris Mincher graded the album a B+, saying, "Supernova is a surprisingly bold, enterprising follow-up from an artist who could have easily ridden out the rest of his career on adult-alternative autopilot."
In May 2015, NBC's The Voice contestant Sawyer Fredericks performed "Please", a song written by LaMontagne early in his career and included on his self-released album Introducing Ray Lamontagne. The song immediately became the number two single on the iTunes chart, and Fredericks was declared the winner of the competition that same month.

2016–2018: Ouroboros

LaMontagne released his sixth studio album, Ouroboros×Ouroboros4 March 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Homecoming8:302Hey, No Pressure6:343The Changing Man4:134While It Still Beats4:105In My Own Way6:366Another Day3:067A Murmuration of Starlings2:338Wouldn’t It Make a Lovely Photograph4:00, in March 2016. The album was produced by Jim James of My Morning Jacket. LaMontagne stated that Ouroboros was written as a single arc, rather than a "batch of songs" and that it was intended for vinyl. He cited the Talk Talk album Spirit of Eden as stylistically similar to his vision of an unstructured, free-flowing album.
Ouroboros received positive reviews from critics. Critics noted the album's psychedelic qualities, comparing it to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.
On September 20, 2016, LaMontagne announced that he was canceling a September 22 show at the Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas at Austin, due to Texas's recently implemented campus carry law.

2018: Part of the Light

LaMontagne released his seventh studio album, Part of the Light×Part of the Light18 May 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1To the Sea5:122Paper Man4:263Part of the Light4:204It's Always Been You5:385Let's Make It Last4:276As Black as Blood Is Blue4:467Such a Simple Thing4:588No Answer Arrives5:159Goodbye Blue Sky7:07, on May 18, 2018. The album is produced solely by LaMontagne. The first single released from the LP was "Such a Simple Thing', where those who purchased the album on LaMontagne's website received a stream of the live version of the track. LaMontagne commenced his "Part of the Light Tour" which kicked off May 27 at the Pacific Northwest Sasquatch Music Festival.

2020: Monovision

LaMontagne released his eighth studio album, Monovision×MONOVISION26 June 2020 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Roll Me Mama, Roll Me4:062I Was Born to Love You4:143Strong Enough3:364Summer Clouds4:265We'll Make It Through6:046Misty Morning Rain5:427Rocky Mountain Healin'4:178Weeping Willow3:259Morning Comes Wearing Diamonds4:0110Highway to the Sun5:31, on RCA Records in 2020.

2024: Long Way Home

LaMontagne released his ninth studio album, Long Way Home×Long Way Home16 August 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Step Into Your Power3:302I Wouldn’t Change a Thing3:513Yearning4:034And They Called Her California3:575La de Dum, La de Da2:436My Lady Fair3:407The Way Things Are4:038So, Damned, Blue1:479Long Way Home4:04, on August 16, 2024.

Style

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 that of The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley.
A Rolling Stone review of his album Supernova×Supernova29 April 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks1Lavender4:262Airwaves4:423She's the One3:184Pick Up a Gun5:065Julia3:216No Other Way3:387Supernova3:558Ojai4:369Smashing4:4110Drive-In Movies5:03 referred to his voice as an "impeccably weathered tenor croon" and his phrasing as "marble-mouthed."

Personal life

In 2009, LaMontagne paid $1.05 million for a 103-acre farm in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the former residence of U.S. Ambassador William C. Bullitt, where he lives with his wife, Sarah Sousa, and their two children in the farmhouse built in 1830.
Sousa is a published poet via Red Mountain Press, and their sons are budding artists. LaMontagne refers to himself as a "very private person" and rarely gives interviews.