David Ritz (born December 2, 1943 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) 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 des ...

for artists such as

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

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'' (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 Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

*''Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story'' (1995) with

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

*''Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B. B. King'' (1996) with B.B. King *''The Brothers Neville'' (2000) with the

Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1 ...

*'' True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself'' (2011) with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

*''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 m ...

'' (2012) with R. Kelly *''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 ...

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

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

-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 Mariake ...

in April 1982 and is credited as a collaboration between

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, Odell Brown, 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 Guy King (born 1977) is an Israeli-born blues and jazz guitarist and singer who now lives in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Guy King's playing style has been influenced by many jazz, soul and blues musicians which include B.B. King, and Alb ...

'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 belief ...

''.

Personal life

Ritz graduated from the University of Texas in Austin 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. 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 pres ...

, Best Album Notes for

'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 Ralph Joseph Gleason (March 1, 1917 – June 3, 1975) was an American music critic and columnist. He contributed for many years to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', was a founding editor of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, and cofounder of the Monterey ...

Award for ''

: Rhythm and the Blues''. * 1995

Award for ''

: Rage to Survive''. * 1996

Award for BB King’s ''Blues All Around Me'' * 2000

Award for the

' ''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