Ray Shulman, Gentle Giant member, dies at 73
Ray Shulman, the founding bassist of the seminal prog-rock group Gentle Giant, has died at the age of 73. According to his brother and bandmate, Derek, Ray passed away on March 30th after “he bravely battled a long illness.”
Ray and his brothers, Phil and Derek, started their first band together in the early 1960s. They signed a record deal under the moniker Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, achieving their first top-ten single with the song ‘Kites’. During their humble rise to success, the brothers recruited a young pianist named Reginald Dwight, who became rather a big deal under his stage name Elton John.
Simon Dupree and the Big Sound’s stint was transient, as the Shulman brothers began to hold the unwanted title of ‘one-hit wonders’. The band reinvented themselves as The Moles, but this iteration was sadly unsuccessful, ending in a breakup.
In 1970, the Shulman brothers regrouped to form a new band, Gentle Giant, alongside Gary Green, Kerry Minnear, and Martin Smith. Channelling rock, jazz, and classical music, Gentle Giant were among the early pioneers of the progressive rock genre alongside bands like King Crimson, ELP, Yes, and Genesis.
Following Gentle Giant’s successful 1970 self-titled debut album, they hit a run of acclaim with subsequent LPs, including more well-received albums, including 1971’s Acquiring the Taste, 1972’s Three Friends, 1972’s Octopus, 1973’s In a Glass House, and 1975’s Free Hand.
Ray is remembered for his versatility as a musician. Across these albums, he can be heard playing bass, guitar, violin, viola, recorder, and keyboards, among other instruments. Ray was the band’s main composer alongside Minnear.
Following Gentle Giant’s split in 1979, Ray worked as a producer and engineer for artists including The Sugarcubes, The Sundays, and Ian McCulloch.
“Ray really was a genius in so many ways. He was such a kind and caring soul,” his brother Derek wrote in a new social media post. “He was an incredible composer, musician, music producer & tech wizard. He was a true artist and preferred to stay in the background and let his body of work speak for him” rather than talk about himself.”
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