Photo: Dani Canto / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ry Cooder is one of those rare musicians where you hear two notes and you instantly know who it is — that dusty, aching slide guitar tone is completely his own. Born in Los Angeles in 1947, he could have chased mainstream success but instead spent decades going deep on blues, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, gospel, and eventually Cuban son with the Buena Vista Social Club project, which introduced a whole generation to music that might otherwise have faded away. The man is essentially a walking musicologist who happens to also play better than almost anyone alive. His film scores for Paris, Texas and The Long Riders are masterclasses in using sparse guitar to carry an entire emotional landscape. Winning the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist in 2007 felt almost too tidy for someone this restless and genuinely curious — he's never really stopped digging.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ry Cooder
- Name (Japanese)
- ライ・クーダー
- Reading
- らい・くーだー
- Born
- March 15, 1947 (age 79)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Boar
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Occupation
- guitarist / singer / composer / banjoist / musicologist
2. Background
- High school
- Santa Monica High School
- University
- Reed College
Awards & achievements
- Grammy Awards
- 2007 Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ry Cooder born?
Born March 15, 1947 (age 79).
Where is Ry Cooder from?
Ry Cooder is from Los Angeles, California, United States.
What does Ry Cooder do?
Ry Cooder works as guitarist, singer, composer, banjoist, musicologist.
Guitarist — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.