Ray LaMontagne

A deeply private person within a very public-facing profession, Ray LaMontagne was a Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter that critics compared favorably to legends Otis Redding, Van Morrison and Nick Drake, among others. Born June 18, 1973, LaMontagne was one of six children whose mother moved frequently, according to her various states of employment and housing. As a result - when choosing to attend school at all - LaMontagne admitted in later interviews to be more interested in drawing pictures of Dungeons & Dragons than paying attention to the lessons at hand. However, after graduating high school and taking up employment in a Maine shoe factory, it was music - not art - that proved to be his calling, after hearing the Stephen Stills album, Manassas. LaMontagne likened the experience to an epiphany, and quit his job on the spot - vowing then and there to be a professional singer and musician. He completed a 10-song demo by 1999. The work not only got him a gig at Maine's Oddfellow Theatre as an opening act for folk artists John Gorka and Jonathan Edwards, but it also caught the attention of Chrysalis Music Publishing. The company signed the singer and teamed him with noted British producer Ethan Johns, with a debut album titled Trouble picked up and released in 2004 by RCA. Critics praised the work (including the title tune), and the follow-up Till the Sun Turns Black following in 2006. Around this time, LaMontagne also began placing music in television shows such as "ER" (NBC 1994-2009), "One Tree Hill" (CW 2003-2012) and "Bones" (Fox 2005-2015). Supporting these releases live on-stage proved challenging for the shy singer however, with LaMontagne often times performing with his back to the audience or in near complete darkness. Regardless, he quickly amassed a faithful following fond of his throwback vocal style and sound. In 2008, his next release Gossip in the Grain debuted at number three on the American charts. Once again, several more tracks were eventually featured in various TV shows. In 2012, his God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise earned the singer his first Grammy win for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He followed this up in 2014 with Supernova, a more rock-oriented release with a surprisingly psychedelic feel produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.