David Ritz (born December 2, 1943 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) is an American author. He has written novels, biographies, magazine articles, and over a hundred

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

for artists such as Aretha Franklin,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. He has coauthored 36 autobiographies, including some celebrities' autobiographies.

Career and bibliography

As a journalist

“Happy Song: Soul Music in the Ghetto,” Ritz’s first critical essay, was published in ''

Salmagundi Salmagundi (or salmagundy or sallid magundi) is a cold dish or salad made from different ingredients which may include meat, seafood, eggs, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, fruits or pickles. In English culture, the term does not refer to a s ...

'' (1970). Dozens of other articles have followed, including “History of the Jews of Dallas,” ''D Magazine'' (1974); “Kids’ Stuff: Jackson Pollock, Jimmie Vaughan and the Architecture of Las Vegas,” ''Art Connoisseur'' (1998); “Show and Tell,” introduction to Rolling Stone’s ''Tattoo Nation'' (2002); the forward to ''Lady Sings the Blues'', the 50th-anniversary edition of the autobiography of

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

(2006); and “The Last Days of Brother Ray,” included in ''Da Capo's Best Music Writing of 2005''.

As a biographer

Ritz’s first collaboration was ''Brother Ray'' (1978), the autobiography of

. Ritz has said that his initial intention was to write a biography until becoming intrigued by the idea of rendering the book entirely in Charles' voice. "That's when I discovered I had a gift for channeling voice", Ritz told the L.A. Times' Patrick Goldstein in 2012. "That discovery changed the course of my literary life." Other autobiographies co-written by Ritz include: *'' Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye'' began when Ritz met Gaye in the late seventies and was published in 1985, a year after the singer’s death. *''Rhythm And The Blues: A Life in American Music'' (1993) with Jerry Wexler *''Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story'' (1995) with Etta James *''Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B. B. King'' (1996) with

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

*''The Brothers Neville'' (2000) with the Neville Brothers *'' True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself'' (2011) with Janet Jackson *''When I Left Home: My Story'' (2012) with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

*''

Soulacoaster ''Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me'' is an autobiography by American R&B artist R. Kelly, co-written with David Ritz. The book was released June 28, 2012. R. Kelly dedicated this book to his mother, who died in the early 1990s, and his high school ...

'' (2012) with

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

*''On Time: A Princely Life in Funk'' (2019) with

Morris Day Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time. Music career Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...

Ritz has also written an inspirational book. ''Messengers'', a portrait of African-American gospel singers and ministers, was published in 2006.

As a novelist

Ritz’s fiction ranges from sports fantasies--''The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back To Brooklyn'' (1981)-- to jazz fantasies--''Blue Notes Under a Green Felt Hat'' (1989) and ''Barbells and Saxophones'' (1989). Ritz collaborated with

Mable John Mable John (November 3, 1930 – August 25, 2022) was an American blues vocalist and was the first female signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label. Biography John was born in Bastrop, Louisiana, on November 3, 1930, the eldest of at le ...

on three Christian novels: ''Sanctified'' (2006), ''Stay Out of the Kitchen'' (2007) and ''Love Tornado'' (2008). He has also collaborated with rapper T.I. on two novels— ''Power and Beauty'' (2011) and ''Trouble and Triumph'' (2012).

As a lyricist

The

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-selling song "

Sexual Healing "Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, '' Midnight Love'' (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, followi ...

" was written in

Ostend, Belgium Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

in April 1982 and is credited as a collaboration between Marvin Gaye,

Odell Brown Odell Elliott Brown Jr. (February 2, 1940 – May 3, 2011) was an American jazz organist. He was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing soul jazz and jazz funk with his backing band as Odell Brown & the Organ-Izers. Biography Brown was ...

, and Ritz. Ritz was not originally credited as songwriter, and his contribution to the song has been debated, with many sources claiming that he contributed only the title. Ritz sued Marvin Gaye for songwriting credit; Ritz received credit only after settling with Marvin Gaye's estate after the singer's death. Ritz claims that the lawsuit was settled because he had interview tapes with Marvin Gaye in which Gaye says, "These are great lyrics you wrote." David Ritz also co-wrote three songs including the title track from Guy King's 2016 album ''

Truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as belie ...

''.

Personal life

Ritz graduated from the

University of Texas in Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 1966, and received a Masters of Arts from the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

in 1970, where he studied with literary critic

Leslie Fiedler Leslie Aaron Fiedler (March 8, 1917 – January 29, 2003) was an American literary critic, known for his interest in mythography and his championing of genre fiction. His work incorporates the application of psychological theories to American lit ...

. He has been married to Roberta Michele Ritz since 1968. They have two children, twins Alison and Jessica, born in 1974.

Awards

* 1992

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

, Best Album Notes for Aretha Franklin's ''Queen Of Soul - The Atlantic Recordings'' :*Ritz has also been nominated for four additional Grammys: “Ray Charles 50th Anniversary Collection,” Liner Notes (1997); “Ray Charles 50th Anniversary Collection,” Producer (1997); “Ray Charles—Pure Genius,” Liner Notes (2005); “Aretha Franklin—The Golden Reign,” Liner Notes (2008). * 1993 Ralph J. Gleason Award for '' Jerry Wexler: Rhythm and the Blues''. * 1995 Ralph J. Gleason Award for '' Etta James: Rage to Survive''. * 1996 Ralph J. Gleason Award for

BB King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shim ...

’s ''Blues All Around Me'' * 2000 Ralph J. Gleason Award for the Neville Brothers' ''The Brothers Neville'' * 2006

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Deems Taylor Award for liner notes of ''Johnny “Guitar” Watson: The Funk Anthology'', released by Shout! Factory * 2011

Deems Taylor Award for liner notes of

& Friends: ''Riffin'', released by Verve/Hip-O Select.com/Universal Music Enterprises * 2013 Living Blues Reader's Poll, Best Book for ''When I Left Home: My Story'' –

and David Ritz – Da Capo Press * 2013 Association for Recorded Sound Award for Best Historical Research in Blues/Gospel/Hip-hop/R&B for ''When I Left Home: My Story'' –

and David Ritz – Da Capo * 2013

Timothy White Award for Outstanding Musical Biography for ''When I Left Home: My Story''-

and David Ritz

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritz, David American music journalists Marvin Gaye Grammy Award winners 1942 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American biographers