Ray Monette
Ray Monette | |
|---|---|
 Monette in 1974 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Raymond Curtis Monette May 7, 1946 |
| Died | April 9, 2026 (aged 79) |
| Genres | Rock |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1960s–2017 |
| Formerly of | Rare Earth |
Raymond Curtis Monette (May 7, 1946 – April 9, 2026) was an American musician, singer and songwriter.
Early life
[edit]Raymond Curtis Monette was born on May 7, 1946 in Redford, Michigan to Ernest Antoine Monette and Geraldine Grace (Trowbridge) Monette.[1][2][3] He had a brother, Lanny David Monette, who predeceased him, and a sister, Patricia.[3] Monette was raised in Detroit.[3] Monette first decided to have a career in music when he was thirteen years old, and his parents soon bought him his first guitar.[3]
Career
[edit]He started his career as a session musician with Motown. He was also a songwriter and, in 1967 Detroit started a band called The Abstract Reality, who released a 45 rpm single "Love Burns Like A Fire Inside".[4][5] He formed Scorpion with Mike Campbell, Bob 'Babbitt' Kreinar and Andrew Smith. His name appears on Scorpion and Meat Loaf's debut album Stoney & Meatloaf (1971). For that recording, Monette co-wrote four songs.[6][7] That same year, he played tenor guitar on "Evolution" by Dennis Coffey & the Detroit Guitar Band,[8] and played a guitar solo on Funkadelic's "I Got A Thing, You Got A Thing, Everybody's Got A Thing". He was guitarist and singer for Rare Earth from 1971 until 2004 (with a break around 1977).[9] Monette played guitar on one of Rare Earth's most memorable singles, "I Just Want to Celebrate" and was the guitarist on the gold-selling 1971 live album, Rare Earth in Concert.
In 2010, Monette played on the Phil Collins album, Going Back.[10]
Personal life
[edit]Monette married his wife Judith Lee Ricketts, who he met in high school, on November 26, 1966.[3] They had three children: a daughter, born in 1967 who died from SIDS in 1968, and two sons, born in 1970 and 1976.[3] They also have two grandchildren.[3]
Monette died on April 9, 2026, at the age of 79.[3]
References
[edit]- ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. Library of Congress. 1967. p. 1695. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ↑ Kauth, André (20 November 2025). Die deutschen Single-Charts Band 2 – 1970 bis 1979: 1970 bis 1979. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 155. ISBN 978-3-6951-3634-6. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Raymond C. Monette". Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Sport Records 104-A (1967 Detroit MI) label & song - side A: 'Love Burns Like A Fire Inside' (A. Williams, R. Monette, M. Campbell), The Abstract Reality". YouTube. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2011. (Note: side B: ib. instrumental version)
- ↑ "The Soul Discography (Volume 1 A-F)" (PDF). Eyeball Productions, West Vancouver, BC Canada. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ "Scorpion". Badcatrecords.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ Stoney and Meatloaf The Almost Complete Meat Loaf & Jim Steinman Lyric Archive], Mljs.evilnickname.org (Retrieved 2 July 2011)
- ↑ "Rare Vinyls - the Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore gems!". Djharvey.de. Retrieved 12 July 2011. (Sussex SXBS 7004 - 1971)
- ↑ Gary S. Hartman (2008). "Rare Earth". The Classic Rock Connection. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ↑ Gerhardts, Christian (6 October 2010). "Genesis News Com [it]: Phil Collins - Making Of Going Back". Genesis-news.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
External links
[edit]- Ray Monette discography at Discogs