Ray Lynch

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title: "Ray Lynch" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-new-age-musicians", "american-classical-musicians", "american-ambient-musicians", "moody-college-of-communication-alumni", "living-people", "musicians-from-salt-lake-city", "musicians-from-san-rafael,-california", "windham-hill-records-artists", "1943-births", "classical-musicians-from-texas", "classical-musicians-from-california"] description: "American musician and composer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Lynch" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American musician and composer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Ray Lynch
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth_name	Raymond Lynch
birth_date
birth_place	Salt Lake City, Utah, US
genre	New-age, instrumental, classical
occupation	Musician, composer
instrument	Guitar, lute, keyboards
years_active	1967–1974; 1980–2000
label	Ray Lynch
Music West
Windham Hill
website
::

| name = Ray Lynch | image = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Raymond Lynch | birth_date = | birth_place = Salt Lake City, Utah, US | genre = New-age, instrumental, classical | occupation = Musician, composer | instrument = Guitar, lute, keyboards | years_active = 1967–1974; 1980–2000 | label = Ray Lynch Music West Windham Hill | website =

Raymond Lynch (born July 3, 1943) is an American guitarist, lutenist, keyboardist, and composer known for his new-age releases in the 1980s.

In the late 1960s, Lynch performed on the lute in New York's Renaissance Quartette, but he withdrew to California and began incorporating electronic music elements, as heard in 1983's The Sky of Mind. He vaulted to fame in 1986 with the single "Celestial Soda Pop" and the 1984 album Deep Breakfast, becoming the first independent new-age artist certified Gold for sales of 500,000. His album No Blue Thing topped the Billboard New Age album chart in 1989. Lynch sued his label Music West and joined Windham Hill in 1992 before retiring in 2000.

Early life

Lynch was born on July 3, 1943, in Salt Lake City, Utah. As the second of four children, Lynch was raised in West Texas. Lynch's father was a lawyer; Lynch's mother was a noted watercolorist and an amateur pianist who influenced him to create music as a child. Other early influences included hymns and soundtracks. Lynch began studying the piano at the age of six. At age twelve, he was inspired by Andrés Segovia's classical recordings and decided to pursue a career in music. While Lynch went on to become a musician, his siblings ended up becoming lawyers.

Life and career

In 1967, while still in college, Lynch was invited to New York City to join the Renaissance Quartet, performing the lute alongside Robert White (tenor), Barbara Mueser (viol), and Morris Newman (recorder), replacing Joseph Iadone. Lynch also performed with other groups, such as "Festival Winds", as well as collaborative and solo performances. Lynch also taught the guitar, lute, and vihuela in the Mexican city of Taxco in the late 1960s. During his career, Lynch purchased a 125-acre farm in Maine. By 1974, Lynch experienced a "spiritual crisis" that led to his decision to move from Maine to California and give up his musical career. Although he became a carpenter and a purchasing agent in California, Lynch also continued to practice his compositional skills. In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Lynch said that his return to music was prompted by a suggestion from his spiritual teacher, Adi Da, in California.

To prepare for his return to music, Lynch bought an ARP Odyssey with "borrowed money" in 1980; the synthesizer helped him create music in the developing electronic genre. Two years later, Lynch released his first album, Truth Is the Only Profound, which recites the teachings of Adi Da "set to the background of devotional music and songs". Lynch later followed up with an instrumental album, The Sky of Mind. Lynch was featured on Musical Starstreams in June 1985. Immediately after joining Music West in Winter 1985, he released Deep Breakfast to a wider audience. The track "Celestial Soda Pop" was used in 1986 as theme music for the NPR program Fresh Air. In January 1989, the album hit number 2 on the Billboard New Age chart, then in April it was certified Gold by the RIAA. In August 1989, No Blue Thing was released, and it became Lynch's first album to hit number 1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart, doing so in September. No Blue Thing was also his only album to appear on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums", peaking at number 197. It won Billboard's "Top New Age Album" in 1990, and Lynch also won Billboard's "Top New Age Artist" in both 1989 and 1990. After years of steady sales, Deep Breakfast was certified Platinum in May 1993.

During his time with Music West, Lynch was featured on Good Morning America as well as the Spanish La 1 program "Música N.A.". In 1991, Lynch sued Music West for allegedly not paying him for his work. He left Music West, taking the rights to his music with him, and signed up with Windham Hill Records. Under the new label, Lynch's albums The Sky of Mind and No Blue Thing (but not Deep Breakfast) were re-released in September 1992 with new album covers.

Under the new record company, Lynch followed up with his final album, the classical Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening, in 1993. The album featured members of the San Francisco Symphony. Like the preceding album, it hit number 1 on the "Top New Age Albums" chart. In 1998, Lynch released his first and only compilation album, Ray Lynch: Best Of, Volume One, which included two original tracks and a remix of "Celestial Soda Pop". Lynch left Windham Hill in 2000 and re-released his own catalog of music under his own record company.

In September 2015, Lynch's house was destroyed by the Valley Fire, along with his studio, awards, and the master tapes of his music. As a result, his friend Grant Valdes Huling set up a GoFundMe page, which ultimately raised over $20,000.

Influences

Throughout his career, Lynch did not want his music to be classified as "New Age". In an interview with CD Review in August 1989, Lynch said he didn't really mind being labeled as a "new age" artist, but says that he doesn't like "being grouped with music that I felt is, in general, pretty mediocre and boring". Lynch also said that "'classical' would be the best category for me."

Lynch had been both a student and follower of Adi Da since 1974. In regards to the spiritual nature of his music, Lynch believed that it "has to be judged subjectively by the listener, not the composer." Lynch named several of his songs and albums after the themes found in Da's novel, The Mummery Book. After the death of Adi Da, Lynch performed various songs for Da's tribute album, "May You Ever Dwell In Our Heart", in 2009.

Discography

::data[format=table]

Album	Year	Label	Chart Performance	Reference	US New Age	US Billboard 200	Weeks	Peak	Weeks	Peak
Truth Is the Only Profound	1982	Ray Lynch Productions	–	–	–	–
The Sky of Mind	1983	Ray Lynch Productions
Music West
Windham Hill Records	–	–	–	–
Deep Breakfast	1984	Ray Lynch Productions
Music West
Windham Hill Records	156	2	–	–
No Blue Thing	1989	Music West
Windham Hill Records	99	1	2	197
Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening	1993	Windham Hill Records	41	1	–	–
Ray Lynch: Best Of, Volume One	1998	Windham Hill Records	8	19	–	–
::

Notes

References

References

1. (June 3, 1989). "Tickertape". Cash Box.
2. "Ray Lynch".
3. Yanow, Scott. (August 1987). "Fine Instrumental Cuisine from Ray Lynch". [[Cymbiosis]].
4. Lynch, Ray. "Ray Lynch: Up Close and Personal". www.raylynch.com.
5. (October 19, 1993). "Love for music can be deadly". [[The Vancouver Sun]].
6. Biehl, Kathy. (October 1989). "Calm Yourself". [[ABA Journal]].
7. Van Ness, Chris. (August 1989). "New Age's Renaissance Man". [[CD Review]].
8. (February 13, 1969). "The Renaissance Quartet to perform". [[University of California, San Diego.
9. Van Ness, Chris. (August 1989). "New Age's Renaissance Man". [[CD Review]].
10. Widders-Ellis, Andy. (December 1989). "Ray Lynch: Exploring the Structure of Music". [[Keyboard (magazine).
11. (February 1, 1969). "To Present Concert". The Ithaca Journal.
12. Means, Andrew. (May 30, 1989). "Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics". [[The Arizona Republic]].
13. (July 21, 1969). "Harpsichord in Renaissance". [[The Post-Standard]].
14. (February 18, 1967). "Renaissance Quartet". Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
15. (1972). "Musical America: Directory of the performing arts". Billboard Publications.
16. Strongin, Theodore. (December 22, 1969). "Janus Chorale in a Mixed-Media Concert". [[The New York Times]].
17. Reinthaler, Joan. (February 5, 1969). "Old Music Gets New Sound". [[The Washington Post]].
18. (1998). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Kollington – Morphine". MUZE.
19. Van Ness, Chris. (August 1989). "New Age's Renaissance Man". [[CD Review]].
20. Means, Andrew. (May 30, 1989). "Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics". [[The Arizona Republic]].
21. Means, Andrew. (May 30, 1989). "Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics". [[The Arizona Republic]].
22. Means, Andrew. (May 30, 1989). "Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics". [[The Arizona Republic]].
23. Van Ness, Chris. (August 1989). "New Age's Renaissance Man". [[CD Review]].
24. Feuerstein, Georg. (December 1, 1984). "Humor Suddenly Returns: Essays on the Spiritual Teaching of Master Da Free John". Dawn Horse Press.
25. Mayfield, Geoff. (October 25, 1986). "Indies". Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
26. "Ray Lynch's Home Page: Albums".
27. Freeman, Kim. (June 22, 1985). "Featured Programming". Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
28. Svetich, Kevin. (December 1990). "Music West Records: the best of two worlds". California Business.
29. McCormick, Moria. (June 3, 1989). "No Quick 'Blue Thing'".
30. "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart".
31. "Top 200 Albums".
32. (December 23, 1989). "Top New Age Artists".
33. (December 22, 1990). "The Year in Music 1990".
34. Jeffery, Don. (February 5, 1994). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
35. (August 25, 1989). "TV Highlights". Victoria Advocate.
36. Kaplan, Allan. (June 30, 1990). "Making the Waves of the Future".
37. Música N.A.. (February 2, 1990). "Constance Demby, Ray Lynch y Pat Metheny".
38. Russell, Deborah. (July 6, 1991). "New Age Act Ray Lynch Exits Music West In Pact Dispute".
39. (July 18, 1992). "The Sun Sets On The Music West label; Jazz-Sampler Discovery; Couple Of Confabs".
40. (October 19, 1991). "Court Order Restrains Music West On Lynch Titles".
41. Stack, Peter. (September 3, 1992). "Something Else". San Francisco Chronicle.
42. Christman, Ed. (14 November 1992). "Windham Hill". Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
43. Miller, Trudi. (September 12, 1992). "Windham Hill Reissuing Lynch Catalog".
44. (August 1994). "New Age Leaders". [[CD Review]].
45. "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart".
46. (1998). "New Age Journal". New Age Journal.
47. Carrillo, Carmel. (March 19, 1998). "Ray Lynch – Best Of". The Baltimore Sun.
48. Lynch, Ray. "Ray Lynch – Biography". www.raylynch.com.
49. Huling, Grant. "Click here to support Wildfire support for Ray Lynch by Grant Huling". [[GoFundMe]].
50. Huling, Grant. "Wildfire support for Ray Lynch".
51. (August 5, 1994). "While Elvis is rolling over". Santa Cruz Sentinel.
52. Van Ness, Chris. (August 1989). "New Age's Renaissance Man". [[CD Review]].
53. (February 1988). "New Age Nostrum".
54. (January 1987). "Ray Lynch: Deep Breakfast". Digital Audio & Compact Disc Review.
55. Means, Andrew. (May 30, 1989). "Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics". [[The Arizona Republic]].
56. "May You Ever Dwell In Our Hearts".
57. Lynch, Ray. "Chart History".
58. Lynch, Ray. "Billboard 200".
59. (March 21, 1998). "Top New Age Albums".
60. (April 18, 1998). "Top New Age Albums".
61. (May 2, 1998). "Top New Age Albums".

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