Ray Shulman, a co-founding member and bassist of the influential prog-rock band Gentle Giant, has died at the age of 73.
According to his brother and bandmate, Derek, Ray passed away on March 30th after “he bravely battled a long illness.”
Having grown up in a musical family, Ray and brothers Phil and Derek started their first band together in the early 1960s. Performing as Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, the band quickly earned a record deal with Emi and achieved a top 10 single with their song “Kites.” At one point, their lineup even featured a young piano player named Reginald Dwight, who went on to find fame as Elton John.
Simon Dupree and the Big Sound’s existence was short-lived, as the Shulman brothers became disillusioned by the music industry and being seen as one-hit wonders. After unsuccessfully attempting to release music under the moniker The Moles, the group broke up.
According to his brother and bandmate, Derek, Ray passed away on March 30th after “he bravely battled a long illness.”
Having grown up in a musical family, Ray and brothers Phil and Derek started their first band together in the early 1960s. Performing as Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, the band quickly earned a record deal with Emi and achieved a top 10 single with their song “Kites.” At one point, their lineup even featured a young piano player named Reginald Dwight, who went on to find fame as Elton John.
Simon Dupree and the Big Sound’s existence was short-lived, as the Shulman brothers became disillusioned by the music industry and being seen as one-hit wonders. After unsuccessfully attempting to release music under the moniker The Moles, the group broke up.
- 4/2/2023
- by Alex Young
- Consequence - Music
Recently, Dusty provided me a golden opportunity: in connection with the release of Three-Piece Suite -- a remastering of some compositions from Gentle Giant's first three albums -- their media team offered an interview with Derek Schulman, lead singer for the group, and now a high-level record company executive. Knowing my love of Gentle Giant, Dusty offered the interview to me. There was no constraint on content, only on the number of questions (an even dozen). So, with thanks to Anne Leighton (of Anne Leighton Media), who coordinated, here is my interview with one of progressive rock's most iconic figures, both as an artist and as a rep:
1. There has been a sort of minor resurgence of things Gentle Giant, including the induction of the band into the Portsmouth Hall of Fame, and the imminent release of Three-Piece Suite, a collection of compositions from the first three Gentle Giant albums,...
1. There has been a sort of minor resurgence of things Gentle Giant, including the induction of the band into the Portsmouth Hall of Fame, and the imminent release of Three-Piece Suite, a collection of compositions from the first three Gentle Giant albums,...
- 10/4/2017
- by Ian Alterman
- www.culturecatch.com
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