Ray LaMontagne

Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.

LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise, Supernova, Ouroboros, Part of the Light, and Monovision.

He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after hearing an album by Stephen Stills.

Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to that of Otis Redding, Ryan Adams, Beck, Pink Floyd, The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake and Tim Buckley.

LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973, one of six children raised by his single mother.

In his early teens he lived in Morgan, Utah, and was more interested in drawing images of Dungeons & Dragons than in his school work.

After graduating from high school, LaMontagne moved to Lewiston, Maine, and found work in a shoe factory.

LaMontagne also spent a significant amount of time in Wilton, Maine.

Other sources state that by his teen years he was living in Maine, spending time in Turner and Buckfield.

LaMontagne was inspired to quit his job and begin a career as a singer-songwriter after waking up one morning to the radio on his alarm clock playing the Stephen Stills' song "Treetop Flyer".

LaMontagne began performing in 1999 while maintaining a part-time job as a tutor.

In the summer of 1999 he recorded 10 songs for a demo album that was sent to various local music venues including Maine's Oddfellow Theater, where he was hired as an opening act for John Gorka and Jonathan Edwards.

A business executive named Ron Clayton discovered LaMontagne at a musical festival in Maine and introduced him to Chrysalis Music Publishing and in 2004 LaMontagne recorded the album Trouble with producer Ethan Johns and sold it to RCA Records in the US and Echo Records in the UK.

The album featured performances by Sara Watkins and Jennifer Stills, daughter of Stephen Stills.

The album sold over 250,000 copies in the US and 500,000 worldwide.

During a 2005 tour, LaMontagne appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits (season 31, episode 4).

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.

In 2005, he performed at two charity events, a New York City fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam.

His song "Hold You in My Arms" was featured in the 2006 movie She's The Man.

LaMontagne's second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, was released in August 2006 and featured horn and string sections on several of the songs with Rachael Yamagata providing additional vocals on the song "Barfly".

The album peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 28,000 copies in its first week of release.

The album spawned the single "Three More Days".

In 2006 LaMontagne performed on The Tonight Show.

The song "Till the Sun Turns Black" was featured on the television show ER, and the songs "Lesson Learned" and "Within You" appeared on the CW drama One Tree Hill.

His song "Be Here Now" was heard on the trailer for the movie Away From Her, in the film 27 Dresses, on the TV shows Bones, Covert Affairs, New Amsterdam, and Brothers & Sisters.

LaMontagne performed at KYSR's Lounge for Life charity concert on October 5, 2006, at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California.

He also auctioned off one of his guitars on eBay for its charity auction.

Funds raised from the concert and auction went to breast cancer research.

LaMontagne released his third studio album, Gossip in the Grain, on RCA Records in 2008.

It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts with 60,000 units sold.

Working again with producer Ethan Johns, the album featured LaMontagne's touring band of Jennifer Condos on bass, Eric Heywood on guitar, and Ethan Johns on drums and guest vocals from singer-songwriter Leona Naess.

The song "You Are the Best Thing" was featured in the movie I Love You, Man and in the television series One Tree Hill.

LaMontagne performed on Saturday Night Live in March 2009.

The songs "Sarah" and "I Still Care For You" appeared on the television series House.

His song "Trouble" appeared in the TV series Alias as well as in a national television commercial for Travelers Insurance, and his song "Jolene" was heard in the credits of the 2010 film The Town.

His song "Let It Be Me" was featured on the television series Parenthood and was included on the Parenthood soundtrack in 2010.

It was also used in an episode entitled "JJ" from the sixth season of Criminal Minds and in the seventh episode from season one of Fringe titled In Which We Meet Mr. Jones.

LaMontagne's self-produced studio album, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise, was released in August 2010.

In December 2010, LaMontagne received Grammy nominations and won the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

In August 2010, he performed at a Nashville, Tennessee, charity event to raise money for victims of a local flood.