Ray LaMontagne Case Study
Case Study:
Ray LaMontagne
In 1999, Ray LaMontagne quit his day job to pursue singing and songwriting as a career. He literally holed up and practiced. After a few failed gigs, he sought a vocal coach, and that’s when his career took off. Though still popular, his popularity most likely peaked at the Bonaroo Fest where he broke out in 2005. A disdain for media and his own artististic integrity keep him honest to himself. He currently lives on a farm in Maine with his wife and two children.
His website: http://www.raylamontagne.com/us/home
From WikiPedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_LaMontagne
LaMontagne was inspired to quit his job and start a career as a singer-songwriter after listening to Stephen Stills‘ song “Treetop Flyer” and the album Stills Alone. [9][10] He began performing in 1999, while maintaining a part time job as a tutor.[9] In the summer of 1999, LaMontagne recorded 10 songs for a demo album that he sent to various local music venues including Maine’s Oddfellow Theater, who hired him as the opening act for John Gorka and Jonathan Edwards. A business executive introduced him to Chrysalis Music Publishing who recorded LaMontagne’s first album, and sold it to RCA Records in the USA and Echo Records in the UK[11]
In 2004 LaMontagne recorded his album Trouble with producer Ethan Johns and released it on RCA Records. The album featured performances by Sara Watkins and Stephen Stills‘ daughter, Jennifer.[12] The album sold over 250,000 copies in the USA and 500,000 worldwide.[13][14][4] During a 2005 tour, LaMontagne performed on the TV show Austin City Limits.[15]
An EP of LaMontagne’s performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival was released in 2005 and his song “All the Wild Horses” was part of the soundtrack for the TV series Rescue Me and the 2009 film The Boys Are Back. His song “Trouble” appeared in the TV series Alias and his song “Jolene” was heard in the 2010 film The Town. His song “Hold You in My Arms” was featured in the 2006 movie, She’s The Man.[16]
In 2005, he performed at two charity events, a NYC fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and at the “Warren Haynes Christmas Jam”.[17] [18]