{{good article}} {{Short description|American musician (1943–2025)}} {{for|the American football player and coach|Ray Lynch (American football)}} {{Infobox person | name = Ray Lynch | image = Ray Lynch.jpeg | caption = Lynch in the 1980s | birth_name = Raymond Augustus Lynch | birth_date = {{birth date|1943|7|3}} | birth_place = Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|12|22|1943|7|3}} | death_place = California, U.S. | occupation = Musician, composer | module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | instruments = Guitar, lute, keyboards | years_active = 1967–1974; 1980–2000 | label = Ray Lynch<br/>Music West<br/>Windham Hill | genre = New-age, instrumental, classical<ref name=NotNA/><ref>{{cite news|title=Tickertape|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/80s/1989/CB-1989-06-03-OCR-Page-0002.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023|work=Cash Box|via=World Radio History|date=June 3, 1989|page=2|quote=Lynch doesn't cozy to the new age tag, but we're stumped for what else to call his witty, electronic keyboard classicisms.}}</ref> }} | website = {{URL|www.raylynch.com}} | spouse = {{plainlist| *Ginny (before 1970s, divorced) *{{married|Kathleen Bennett|1976}} }} | children = 2 }}
'''Raymond Augustus Lynch'''<ref name=Obituary/> (July 3, 1943 – December 22, 2025) was 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.<ref name=Birth/> 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.<ref name=Birth>{{cite web|title=Ray Lynch|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ray-lynch-mn0000870589|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 16, 2017}}</ref><ref name=Cymbiosis>{{cite journal|last=Yanow|first=Scott|title=Fine Instrumental Cuisine from Ray Lynch|journal=Cymbiosis|date=August 1987|volume=1|issue=3|pages=22–23; 41|location=West Covina, California|isbn=9780793556878|issn=0895-6936|oclc=16743840|quote=Born 3 July 1943 in Salt Lake City...'With my wife and kid I moved to Barcelona, Spain to study with a very good teacher, Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, for 3 years.'}}</ref> As the second of four children, Lynch was raised in West Texas.<ref name="Primary1">{{cite news|last=Lynch|first=Ray|title=Ray Lynch: Up Close and Personal|url=http://www.raylynch.com/up_close_and_personal/index.html|access-date=April 2, 2017|work=www.raylynch.com}}</ref><ref name=Canada>{{cite news|last1=Strachan|first1=Alex|title=Love for music can be deadly|work=The Vancouver Sun|date=October 19, 1993|accessdate=October 23, 2022|page=E2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111857299/love-for-music-can-be-deadly-alex-stra/}}</ref> Lynch's father was a lawyer;<ref name=Siblings>{{cite journal|last=Biehl|first=Kathy|title=Calm Yourself|journal=ABA Journal|date=October 1989|volume=75|issue=10|page=122|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/abaj75&i=1286|access-date=February 2, 2018|quote=...try anything by Stephen Halpern or Ray Lynch (who is, coincidentally, the son and brother of lawyers) or Kay Gardner's "Rainbow Path."}}</ref> 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.<ref name=CDReview1>{{cite journal|last=Van Ness|first=Chris|title=New Age's Renaissance Man|journal=CD Review|date=August 1989|volume=6|issue=12|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iw9AQAAIAAJ&q=Its+juxtaposing+two+things+that+you+wouldn%27t|access-date=February 28, 2017|quote=Now at 45, Lynch became hooked on music early. 'I remember being very moved, at the age of 3 or 4, by some of the music I heard in church, and later by music from the movies. Also, I was influenced by my mother, who was a good amateur pianist.'}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Primary1"/><ref name=CDReview2/> After attending high school in both St. Stephen's Episcopal School and Austin High School,{{efn|In interviews, Lynch says he was raised in West Texas,<ref name="Primary1"/> but he also says that his high schools were in Austin, which is in central Texas.<ref name="Primary2"/>}} Lynch went to the Austin campus of the University of Texas. After studying there for a year, he moved to Barcelona with his wife Ginny and his child.<ref name=Cymbiosis/> Over there, he was apprenticed to Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, a classical guitar teacher. Three years later Lynch returned to the university to study composition with various instruments including guitar, lute, and vihuela.<ref name=Raymond>{{cite journal|title=The Renaissance Quartet to perform|journal=UC San Diego|date=February 13, 1969|quote=Raymond Lynch, who will play the lute, began his musical studies on the guitar, which he perfected in Barcelona, Spain, under the tutelage of one of the great masters of the guitar, Eduardo Sains de la Maza. When he returned to the United States to the University of Texas, he developed a technical command of the lute, vihuela and guitar.}}</ref><ref name=CDReview2>{{cite journal|last=Van Ness|first=Chris|title=New Age's Renaissance Man|journal=CD Review|date=August 1989|volume=6|issue=12|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iw9AQAAIAAJ&q=Its+juxtaposing+two+things+that+you+wouldn%27t|access-date=February 28, 2017|quote=at age 12, however, he took up classical guitar. He studied under guitarist Eduardo Sainz de la Maza in Barcelona in the early 1960s, and later attended the University of Texas in Austin to study composition.}}</ref><ref name=Keyboard1>{{cite journal|last=Widders-Ellis|first=Andy|title=Ray Lynch: Exploring the Structure of Music|journal=Keyboard|date=December 1989|volume=15|issue=12|page=29|quote=[Lynch] studied composition at the University of Texas, where he wrote experimental orchestral pieces, and learned classical guitar in Spain.}}</ref><ref name="Teacher">{{cite journal|title=To Present Concert|journal=The Ithaca Journal|date=February 1, 1969|volume=155|issue=28|page=5|quote=Lynch, who performs early music, began his musical studies on the guitar. He studied in Barcelona, Spain under Eduardo Sainz de la Maza. He returned to the United States and continued to study guitar as well as lute and vihuela at the University of Texas. Recently, he taught these instruments as part of an Early Music Symposium in Tasco, Mexico (sic).}}</ref> While Lynch went on to become a musician, his siblings ended up becoming lawyers.<ref name=Siblings/>
==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),<ref name=CDReview3/><ref name=Arizona1>{{cite journal|last=Means|first=Andrew|title=Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics|journal=The Arizona Republic|date=May 30, 1989|volume=100|issue=12|pages=18–19|access-date=March 13, 2017|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9328019/ray_lynch_6_the_arizona_republic_may/|quote=After considering other options at college, Lynch decided to become a professional musician. Composition could not provide a viable living, he decided, so in 1967, he accepted an invitation to play the lute with the Renaissance Quartet, based in New York.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Harpsichord in Renaissance|journal=The Post-Standard|date=July 21, 1969|volume=140|issue=209|page=14|quote=The tenor, Robert White, through an opera performer, has achieved a commendable style for singing older music with this combination. Other members are Raymond Lynch, lutinist (sic) who began as a guitar player; Barbara Mueser, viol de gamba player; Morris Newman, recorder artist and a member of the Kranis Baroque Ensemble.}}</ref> replacing Joseph Iadone.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Renaissance Quartet|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Joseph%22+%2B+%22Renaissance+Quartet%22&pg=PA74|access-date=March 13, 2017|volume=79|issue=7|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=February 18, 1967|page=74|language=en}}</ref> Lynch also performed with other groups, such as "Festival Winds",<ref>{{cite book|title=Musical America: Directory of the performing arts|date=1972|publisher=Billboard Publications|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9UaAQAAMAAJ|access-date=January 22, 2018|quote=The management continues as well to present the Festival Winds; tenor Hugues Cuenod; soprano Jean Hakes; Raymond Lynch, lute; and Albert Fuller, harpsichord.}}</ref> as well as collaborative<ref>{{cite news|last=Strongin|first=Theodore|title=Janus Chorale in a Mixed-Media Concert|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C06E0DC1131EE3BBC4A51DFB4678382679EDE&legacy=true|access-date=March 12, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=December 22, 1969|quote=The Renaissance Quartet (Raymond Lynch, lute; Barbara Mueser, viola de gamba, Morris Newman, recorder, and Jean Hakes, soprano, substituting for Robert White, tenor) also played and sang like angels.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Reinthaler|first=Joan|title=Old Music Gets New Sound|access-date=April 2, 2017|date=February 5, 1969|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/147716361|quote=Last night at the Smithsonian tenor Hughes Cuenod and lutenist Raymond Lynch collaborated on a program of early music. None of it was written after 1640.}}</ref> and solo performances.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/> Lynch also taught the guitar, lute, and vihuela in the Mexican city of Taxco in the late 1960s.<ref name="Teacher"/> During his career, Lynch purchased a 125-acre farm in Maine.<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Kollington – Morphine|date=1998|publisher=MUZE|page=384|isbn=9780195313734|edition=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgwKAQAAMAAJ|access-date=April 17, 2017|quote=Purchasing a 125-acre farm in Maine, Lynch concurrently toured the country giving virtuoso solo performances...}}</ref> 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.<ref name=CDReview3>{{cite journal|last=Van Ness|first=Chris|title=New Age's Renaissance Man|journal=CD Review|date=August 1989|volume=6|issue=12|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iw9AQAAIAAJ&q=Its+juxtaposing+two+things+that+you+wouldn%27t|access-date=February 28, 2017|quote=In '67, Lynch was invited to become lutenist with the Renaissance Quartet in New York. He spent seven years performing with the Quartet and other groups, building a name within the Big Apple's "Early Music" scene. In the mid-'70s, he left it all behind to move to California and reexamine his goals, working as a carpenter and as an industrial purchasing agent while continuing to hone his compositional skills.}}</ref><ref name=Arizona2>{{cite journal|last=Means|first=Andrew|title=Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics|journal=The Arizona Republic|date=May 30, 1989|volume=100|issue=12|pages=18–19|access-date=March 13, 2017|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9328019/ray_lynch_6_the_arizona_republic_may/|quote=Eventually, he moved to Maine, and it was there he had the spiritual crisis that took him West.}}</ref><ref name=Arizona3>{{cite journal|last=Means|first=Andrew|title=Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics|journal=The Arizona Republic|date=May 30, 1989|volume=100|issue=12|pages=18–19|access-date=March 13, 2017|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9328019/ray_lynch_6_the_arizona_republic_may/|quote=All in all, it's been quite a turnaround for a man who moved across country in the mid-'70s resigned to a change of career. 'I thought the music was over,' said Lynch, who had been playing in a group that performed medieval and Elizabethan music in New York and New England. 'I was just ready to lead an ordinary life and be a carpenter.'}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Arizona4>{{cite journal|last=Means|first=Andrew|title=Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics|journal=The Arizona Republic|date=May 30, 1989|volume=100|issue=12|pages=18–19|access-date=March 13, 2017|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9328019/ray_lynch_6_the_arizona_republic_may/|quote=A 'spiritual and personal crisis' in which he felt he was at a dead end led Lynch to the West Coast. Once there, he studied the work of American spiritual teacher and author Love-Ananda (also known as Dafree John), and eventually Love-Ananda suggested that Lynch return to music.}}</ref>
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.<ref name=CDReview4>{{cite journal|last=Van Ness|first=Chris|title=New Age's Renaissance Man|journal=CD Review|date=August 1989|volume=6|issue=12|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iw9AQAAIAAJ&q=Its+juxtaposing+two+things+that+you+wouldn%27t|access-date=February 28, 2017|quote=By 1980, the synthesizer age was developing, and Lynch began experimenting with an Arp model he bought with 'borrowed money'.}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Primary2"/><ref name=Book>{{cite book|last=Feuerstein|first=Georg|title=Humor Suddenly Returns: Essays on the Spiritual Teaching of Master Da Free John|date=December 1, 1984|page=212|publisher=Dawn Horse Press |isbn=9780913922927|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_G3YAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Truth+is+the+only+profound%22|access-date=April 2, 2017}}</ref> Lynch later followed up with an instrumental album, ''The Sky of Mind''.<ref name=Canada/> When Lynch released his third album, ''Deep Breakfast'', in 1984 independently, he sold over 72,000 albums out of his small apartment.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mayfield|first=Geoff|title=Indies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Music+West%22+%2B+1986+%2B+%22Ray+Lynch%22&pg=RA1-PA38|access-date=March 19, 2017|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=October 25, 1986|pages=N-4; N-20|language=en}}</ref> Lynch was featured on Musical Starstreams in June 1985.<ref>{{cite news|last=Freeman|first=Kim|title=Featured Programming|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Ray+Lynch%22+%2B+%22Best+Of%22&pg=PP17|access-date=March 19, 2017|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=June 22, 1985|language=en}}</ref> Immediately after joining Music West in Winter 1985,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Svetich|first=Kevin|title=Music West Records: the best of two worlds|journal=California Business|date=December 1990|page=14|quote=He [Allan Kaplan] sought out Lynch, who was doing his own billing and shipping, and convinced him that together they could do a better job of distributing his music. In the winter of 1985, Kaplan started Music West Records with one musicianLynch-a warehouse in Marin and $40,000.}}</ref> he released ''Deep Breakfast'' to a wider audience.<ref name=WestStart>{{cite magazine|last=McCormick|first=Moria|title=No Quick 'Blue Thing'|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-06-03.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|volume=101|issue=22|date=June 3, 1989|quote=The Marin County, Calif., resident initially released "Deep Breakfast" on his own label, Ray Lynch Productions, "shipping out of my living room, until Music West took over two years ago." In fact, says Lynch, Music West president Allen Kaplan 'started the company based on discussions with me. Now they have about half a dozen different artists.'}}</ref> The track "Celestial Soda Pop" was used in 1986 as bumper music for the NPR program ''All Things Considered''. 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/new-age-albums/1989-09-09|magazine=Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110023109/http://www.billboard.com/charts/new-age-albums/1989-09-09|archive-date=November 10, 2016|access-date=June 15, 2022}}</ref> ''No Blue Thing'' was also his only album to appear on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums", peaking at number 197.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 200 Albums|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1989-06-24|magazine=Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217193611/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1989-06-24/|archive-date=December 17, 2021|access-date=December 17, 2021}}</ref> It won Billboard's "Top New Age Album" in 1990,<ref name="NoBlueThing"/> and Lynch also won Billboard's "Top New Age Artist" in both 1989<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top New Age Artists|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|date=December 23, 1989|volume=101|issue=51|page=Y-46|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-12-23.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023}}</ref> and 1990.<ref name="NoBlueThing">{{cite magazine|title=The Year in Music 1990|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|date=December 22, 1990|volume=102|issue=51|page=YE-26|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/Billboard-1990-12-22.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023}}</ref> After years of steady sales, ''Deep Breakfast'' was certified Platinum in May 1993.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jeffery|first=Don|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Deep+Breakfast%22+++%22Ray+Lynch%22&pg=PA62|access-date=August 17, 2016|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=February 5, 1994|page=62|language=en}}</ref>
During his time with Music West, Lynch was featured on ''Good Morning America''<ref>{{cite news |title=TV Highlights |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111863894/ray-lynch-on-good-morning-america-augus/ |access-date=October 23, 2022 |work=Victoria Advocate |date=August 25, 1989 |pages=38}}</ref><ref name=CEO>{{cite magazine|last=Kaplan|first=Allan|title=Making the Waves of the Future|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-06-30.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|volume=102|issue=26|date=June 30, 1990|page=W-30|quote=Since then, Ray has been played on over 3,000 radio stations around the world. He has been on "Good Morning America," Spanish television, National Public Radio programming, and played on many international radio stations around the world.}}</ref> as well as the Spanish La 1 program "Música N.A.".<ref name=CEO/><ref>{{cite web|last=Música N.A.|website=RTVE Play|title=Constance Demby, Ray Lynch y Pat Metheny|url=https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/programas-y-concursos-en-el-archivo-de-rtve/musica-na-constance-demby-ray-lych-pat-metheny/4414999/|access-date=June 15, 2022|date=February 2, 1990}}</ref> In 1991, Lynch sued Music West for allegedly not paying him for his work.<ref>{{cite news|last=Russell|first=Deborah|title=New Age Act Ray Lynch Exits Music West In Pact Dispute|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-07-06.pdf|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|page=76|access-date=December 11, 2023|date=July 6, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Sun Sets On The Music West label; Jazz-Sampler Discovery; Couple Of Confabs|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|date=July 18, 1992|page=45|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-07-18.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023}}</ref><ref name=Wife>{{cite news|title=Court Order Restrains Music West On Lynch Titles|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-10-19.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2023|date=October 19, 1991|page=51}}</ref> He left Music West, taking the rights to his music with him, and signed up with Windham Hill Records.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stack|first=Peter|title=Something Else|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=September 3, 1992|quote=San Rafael new age composer Ray Lynch ('No Blue Thing'), whose own label went down last year, has signed with Windham Hills Records.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Christman|first=Ed|title=Windham Hill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhAEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Windham+Hill%22+++%22Ray+Lynch%22&pg=RA1-PA49|access-date=17 August 2016|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=14 November 1992|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Trudi|title=Windham Hill Reissuing Lynch Catalog|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-09-12.pdf|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|access-date=December 11, 2023|date=September 12, 1992}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=New Age Leaders|journal=CD Review|date=August 1994|volume=10|issue=12|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kiY9AQAAIAAJ&q=%22ray+lynch%22+%2B+%22San+francisco+symphony%22|access-date=March 1, 2017}}</ref> Like the preceding album, it hit number 1 on the "Top New Age Albums" chart.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/new-age-albums/1993-12-11|magazine=Billboard|access-date=15 August 2016}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite journal|journal=New Age Journal|title=New Age Journal|date=1998|volume=15|issue=2–6|pages=99|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4yEWAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Deep+Breakfast%22+%2B+%22Ray+Lynch%22|access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Carrillo|first=Carmel|title=Ray Lynch – Best Of|journal=The Baltimore Sun|date=March 19, 1998|page=78|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/03/19/robertson-contacts-his-native-american-heritage/}}</ref> Lynch left Windham Hill in 2000 and re-released his own catalog of music under his own record company.<ref name="Primary2">{{cite news|last=Lynch|first=Ray|title=Ray Lynch – Biography|url=http://www.raylynch.com/biography.html|access-date=April 2, 2017|work=www.raylynch.com}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Huling|first=Grant|title=Click here to support Wildfire support for Ray Lynch by Grant Huling|url=https://www.gofundme.com/lynchwildfirehelp|access-date=16 August 2016|work=GoFundMe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Huling|first=Grant|title=Wildfire support for Ray Lynch|url=http://www.raylynch.com|access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref>
Lynch died at his home in California, on December 22, 2025, from complications from a fall, at the age of 82.<ref name=Obituary>{{cite web|title=Ray Lynch 1943–2025|url=https://www.raylynch.com/tribute/index.html|work=www.raylynch.com |access-date=3 February 2026}}</ref> His death was not publicly announced until February 2026.<ref name=Echoes>{{cite news |last=Diliberto |first=John |title=Electronic Artist Ray Lynch R.I.P. 7/3/1943-12/22/2025 |url=https://echoes.org/2026/02/05/electronic-artist-ray-lynch-r-i-p/ |access-date=February 22, 2026 |work=Echoes |date=February 5, 2026}}</ref>
== Influences == Throughout his career, Lynch did not want his music to be classified as "New Age".<ref name=NotNA>{{cite news|title=While Elvis is rolling over|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/66231314/|access-date=February 27, 2017|work=Santa Cruz Sentinel|date=August 5, 1994|page=35|language=en|quote=Ray Lynch, who with his 1984 album "Deep Breakfast" practically defined New Age music, is now saying, no, he is not a New Age composer.}}</ref> In an interview with CD Review in August 1989, Lynch said he did not really mind being labeled as a "new age" artist, but said that he does not 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."<ref name=CDReview5>{{cite journal|last=Van Ness|first=Chris|title=New Age's Renaissance Man|journal=CD Review|date=August 1989|volume=6|issue=12|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iw9AQAAIAAJ&q=Its+juxtaposing+two+things+that+you+wouldn%27t|access-date=February 28, 2017|quote=Still, Lunch is uncertain about where his music belongs. 'I would say that 'classical' would be the best category for me,' he says with some reservation. 'It's just that I'm not dead, and I'm not a contemporary experimenter who can be easily labeled. I don't really mind the 'new age' label, but I don't like being grouped with music that I feel is, in general, pretty mediocre and boring.'}}</ref>
Lynch had been both a student and follower of Adi Da since 1974.<ref name="Primary1"/> In regards to the spiritual nature of his music, Lynch believed that it "has to be judged subjectively by the listener, not the composer."<ref name=LifeMag>{{cite magazine|title=New Age Nostrum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvwxAQAAIAAJ&q=%22has+to+be+judged+subjectively+by+the+listener%2C+not+the+composer%22|access-date=April 2, 2017|magazine=Life|volume=11|issue=2|date=February 1988|pages=108–111|quote=Ray Lynch, a classically trained composer and synthesist, is a follower of Da Love-Ananda...'the spiritual worth of any given piece has to be judged subjectively by the listener, not the composer,' says Lynch, 44.}}</ref> Lynch named several of his songs and albums after the themes found in Da's novel, ''The Mummery Book''.<ref name=1987-1>{{cite journal|title=Ray Lynch: Deep Breakfast|journal=Digital Audio & Compact Disc Review|date=January 1987|volume=3|issue=5|page=19|quote=Several of his themes, "The Oh of Pleasure," "Your Feeling Shoulders," and "Tiny Geometries," as well as the disc's title, were taken from the unpublished Buddhist novel ''The Mummery'' by Da Free John.}}</ref><ref name=Arizona5/> However, in a 1989 Arizona Republic interview, Lynch clarified that he was not trying to promote Da's work through his music.<ref name=Arizona5>{{cite journal|last=Means|first=Andrew|title=Ray Lynch prefers studios to stages for his harmonics|journal=The Arizona Republic|date=May 30, 1989|volume=100|issue=12|pages=18–19|access-date=March 13, 2017|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9328019/ray_lynch_6_the_arizona_republic_may/|quote=Many of the titles on Deep Breakfast and No Blue Thing come from The Mummery, Love-Ananda's unpublished novel. Lynch said the novel is about "the transcendence of the ego," and it may be published this year. [...] Despite the references to Love-Ananda's book, Lynch said he's not trying to promote a particular philosophy through the music.}}</ref> After the death of Adi Da, Lynch performed various songs for Da's tribute album, "May You Ever Dwell In Our Heart", in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=May You Ever Dwell In Our Hearts|url=http://www.dawnhorsepress.com/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=3867|website=The Dawn Horse Press|access-date=April 10, 2017|language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == Lynch's first wife was Ginny, whom he married and divorced before the 1970s.<ref name=Cymbiosis/> He was married to his second wife, Kathleen Bennett, in April 1976.<ref name="Primary1"/> He remained married to Kathleen until his death.<ref name=Echoes/>
==Discography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="3" | Album ! rowspan="3" | Year ! rowspan="3" | Label ! colspan="4" | Chart Performance ! rowspan="3" | Reference |- ! colspan="2" | US New Age ! colspan="2" | US Billboard 200 |- ! Weeks ! Peak ! Weeks ! Peak |- | ''Truth Is the Only Profound'' || 1982 || Ray Lynch Productions || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – ||align="center" | <ref name=Book/> |- | ''The Sky of Mind'' || 1983 || Ray Lynch Productions<br/>Music West<br/>Windham Hill Records || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – ||align="center" | <ref name=Canada/> |- | ''Deep Breakfast'' || 1984 || Ray Lynch Productions<br/>Music West<br/>Windham Hill Records || align="center" | 156 ||align="center" | 2 || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – ||align="center" |<ref name="BillboardNA">{{cite magazine|last=Lynch|first=Ray|title=Chart History|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/364685/ray-lynch/chart?f=331|magazine=Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320144500/https://www.billboard.com/artist/364685/ray-lynch/chart?f=331|archive-date=March 20, 2017|access-date=June 15, 2022|language=en}}</ref> |- | ''No Blue Thing'' || 1989 || Music West<br/>Windham Hill Records || align="center" | 99 ||align="center" | 1 || align="center" | 2 ||align="center" | 197 ||align="center" |<ref name="BillboardNA"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lynch|first=Ray|title=Billboard 200|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/364685/ray-lynch/chart?f=305|magazine=Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320144811/http://www.billboard.com/artist/364685/ray-lynch/chart?f=305|archive-date=March 20, 2017|access-date=June 15, 2022|language=en}}</ref> |- | ''Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening'' || 1993 || Windham Hill Records || align="center" | 41 ||align="center" | 1 || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – ||align="center" |<ref name="BillboardNA"/> |- | ''Ray Lynch: Best Of, Volume One'' || 1998 || Windham Hill Records || align="center" | 8 ||align="center" | 19 || align="center" | – ||align="center" | – ||align="center" |<ref>{{cite news|title=Top New Age Albums|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1998/BB-1998-03-21.pdf|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|access-date=December 11, 2023|date=March 21, 1998|page=46|quote=Week 2; from March 14, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Top New Age Albums|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1998/BB-1998-04-18.pdf|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|access-date=December 11, 2023|date=April 18, 1998|page=36|quote=Week 7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Top New Age Albums|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1998/BB-1998-05-02.pdf|magazine=Billboard|via=World Radio History|access-date=December 11, 2023|date=May 2, 1998|page=39|quote=Re-entry; Week 8}}</ref> |}
== See also == *List of ambient music artists
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{official website|http://www.raylynch.com/}}
{{Ray Lynch}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Ray}} Category:1943 births Category:2025 deaths Category:American new-age musicians Category:American classical musicians Category:American ambient musicians Category:Classical musicians from Texas Category:Classical musicians from California Category:Moody College of Communication alumni Category:Musicians from Salt Lake City Category:Musicians from San Rafael, California Category:Windham Hill Records artists Category:Accidental deaths in California Category:Accidental deaths from falls in the United States