Sun Ra

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Sun Ra
Sun Ra in costume for the film Space is the Place, 1972
AKA	Herman Sonny Blount, Le Sony'r Ra
Born	May 22nd 1914
Origin	Birmingham, Alabama
Died	May 30th 1993 (aged 79)
Occupation	Composer, arranger, bandleader, musician, artist, poet
Instruments	Keyboards, synthesizers, vocals
Years active	1934-1993
Labels	El Saturn Records, Thoth Intergalactic, Impulse! Records, MPS Records, ESP-Disk, Black Saint, A&M Records, Leo Records, Rounder Records
Associated acts	The Sun Ra Arkestra
Website	Official website

Le Sony'r Ra, better known as Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22nd, 1914 – May 30th, 1993), was an American composer, jazz musician, bandleader, keyboard player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. From the 1950s until his retirement in 1992, Ra led the musical collective The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.

Sun Ra died on May 30th, 1993, aged 79, having produced one of the largest and most diverse musical bodies of work of the 20th century. He has been recognized for his influence, both as a pioneer of Afrofuturism and as a musical influence by many experimental and avant-garde acts that followed, including The Residents, who have frequently cited Sun Ra as a formative influence.

The Residents have released two pieces of work in tribute to Ra, "Daydream in Space," (described as a 'tip of the top hat' to Ra, and based on three of his songs) and their 1972 1-10 (With a Touch of 11) suite, which the group described as similar to a number of "tough going" Sun Ra albums upon its release 50 years later.

Biography

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Herman Poole Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. Supposedly following a visionary experience in 1936 or 1937, Blount abandoned his birth name, taking the name Le Sony'r Ra (shortened to Sun Ra, after Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun), Claiming to be an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, Ra developed a mythical and idiosyncratic persona.

Over the course of Sun Ra's career, he recorded dozens of singles and over one hundred full-length albums, comprising well over one thousand compositions (ranging from keyboard solos to works for bands of over thirty musicians, along with electronic excursions, chants, anthems and percussion pieces), producing one of the largest discographies in music history.

Though his mainstream success was limited, Ra was a prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, and remained influential throughout his life for his music and persona. He is now widely considered an innovator; among his distinctions are his pioneering work in free improvisation and modal jazz and his early use of electronic keyboards and synthesizers.

Following a stroke in 1990, Sun Ra continued to record, compose and lead the Arkestra until 1992, when illness forced him to retire to his birth city of Birmingham, Alabama, where he was cared for by his sister in his final years. He died in hospital on May 30th 1993, aged 79. His band remained active as The Sun Ra Arkestra, and, as of 2025, has continued to perform under the leadership of veteran Ra sideman Marshall Allen.

Sun Ra and The Residents

The Residents are noted as long-time admirers of Sun Ra, considering him a formative influence on their own work, particularly his stage presence and costuming, as well as Ra's concept of "magic as stagecraft, illusion, creating things in the mind of your audience that is so much stronger than reality".

The Residents' communal record collection in the 1970s is said to have contained "a bunch" of Sun Ra albums. Members of The Residents are said to have once hired themselves out as waiters at a restaurant in San Francisco near where Ra was shooting a film (most likely Space is the Place), in an attempt to meet him; the group served Ra's table, and having been able to observe him closely, concluded that his persona was not an act.

At one point, the group considered Ra as one of the composers they would reinterpret for their planned American Composers Series of albums, and in 1985, The Residents recorded four Sun Ra instrumentals including "Space Is The Place", "Satellites Are Spinning" and "Rocket #9."

Confusingly, three different pairings for the Sun Ra American Composers album have been officially given. Initially, Uncle Willie, in a 1989 fan club newsletter, stated that a Sun Ra / Bob Dylan album 'was announced at one time, but never appeared', although more recently, it has been stated that Sun Ra was to be paired with Ray Charles, for an album titled Ray and Ra.

The earliest reference to Ray and Ra was the 2022 Residents encyclopaedia, Faceless Forever which was reaffirmed in the liner notes 2025 American Composer's Series CD box set. Confusingly, another paring was given in the liner notes to the 2023 Residents art book, A Sight For Sore Eyes Volume 2, by Aaron Tanner; the notes state that the idea was to pair Sun Ra with Buddy Holly, and that it was to be called Sons of the South: Buddy and Sonny. Recordings of The Residents covering both Buddy Holly and Ray Charles song in the 1980s have been released, but the American Composer's Series booklet is vague and contradictory on their connections to any specific album in the series.

Whatever the case, the three Sun Ra recordings were later adapted intro "Daydream in Space" for their 1991 UWEB CD Daydream B-Liver - the track is stated to be a 'tip of the top hat' to Ra and Barry White. An abridged edit of the song, titled "Daydream in Space (Is The Place)" was included on the Sun Ra tribute compilation, Wavelength Infinity, with Sun Ra credited as co-writer; and would also appear on the Residue Deux CD.

The Residents' manager Homer Flynn saw Sun Ra perform "seven or eight times, at least", further stating that, if he listed the greatest performances he had seen, "there would be three Sun Ra shows in there". When The Residents rediscovered their then 49 year old 1-10 (with a Touch Of 11) demo tape in 2021 they were 'reminded of a number of Sun Ra albums they'd purchased and found similarly tough going,' which inspired them to release the tape in its entirely for Record Store Day 2022.

The original edits of "Space Is The Place", "Satellites Are Spinning" and "Rocket #9" were released on the 2025 American Composers Series CD box set.

Discography

• see Wikipedia article: Sun Ra discography

Credits on Residents Releases

• Daydream B-Liver (1991)
  • "Daydream in Space" described as having 'a tip of the top hat to Sun Ra.'
• Wavelength Infinity: A Sun Ra Tribute (1995)
  • " Daydream In Space (Is The Place)" edit, composed by Sun Ra and The Residents.
• Residue Deux (1998)
  • "Daydream in Space" 'Inspired by Sun Ra's "Space is the Place"'
• American Composers Series (1982-1987) (2025)
  • "Space Is The Place," "Satellites are Spinning," "Rocket #9" written by Blount

See also

• Wavelength Infinity: A Sun Ra Tribute
• The American Composers Series
• "Daydream in Space"

External links and references

• The Sun Ra Arkestra official website
• Sun Ra at Wikipedia