Career
As an adult, Ray Tarantino survived a near-fatal car crash, [4] which he cites as his reason for abandoning the corporate life for the life of a professional musician. [6]
Tarantino co-produced his debut album, "Recusant" with Tony Bowers, [7] co-founder and former bass player of platinum-selling band, Simply Red. "Recusant" was released by Edel AG and the European label, Ponderosa, which has also released solo-albums by former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. [8] A few months after the album's release, Tarantino was propelled to No. 1 unsigned artist from the UK on MySpace [9] topping the charts alongside Amy Winehouse and Gomez. [10] As a result, Ivo Grasso signed him to a recording contract with Massive Arts and a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. [9] [11] He then began solid years of touring across Europe [9] and the US, earning him the media moniker, "Travelling Troubadour." [4] [12]
Working in collaboration, songwriter Giulio Casale wrote the lyrics and Tarantino composed the music for the song, "Senza Pelle," which was recorded by Italian folk singer Patrizia Laquidara. [13]
Delmar Brown, piano player and composer for many musicians, including Sting, Jaco Pastorius and Miles Davis, recorded Tarantino's song, "My Heart Your Heart," on Brown's album, "Inner Spirit." [14] [15]
Tarantino also produced Luca Gemma’s third solo album, “Folkadelic.” [16]
He has performed on American television [10] and on the Italian television show, "Parla Con Me," [17] famous for its political satire, liberal views [18] and critique of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. [19]
In 2010, he opened for Tori Amos at the Villa Arconati Music Festival. [20] He counts the experience among his career's highlights, [21] along with meeting legendary musician Taj Mahal. [5]
Tiny Drum Records [22] released his self-titled second album in 2012 to positive reviews. [7] Tarantino lives in Nashville, where he records for Tiny Drum Records. [4] Steve Werbelow co-produced Tarantino's third album, "Good Things Will Happen," to be released in 2014. [23] The album includes collaboration with Steve O'Brien, co-writer of the No. 2 Billboard Country Single, "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)," [24] and Jim Reilley, co-founder of The New Dylans. [25]