Album Notes

Ray Scudero 1946-2005 RIP

Ray Scudero, songwriter, singer and luthier, died on December 3, 2005, after a long illness.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ray lived for some twenty years in Israel, where he came to feel most at home. His multi-faceted talents turned him into a pillar of the local folk music community.

Ray's songs have touched the hearts of many. They are often witty and erudite, never pretentious, and sometimes simply poignant or stirring. Above all, they reflect the deep humanity of their author. It was no small tribute to his songwriting gifts that the folk community in Israel
presented a wonderfully varied five-hour concert on New Year's Eve 2003 that showcased Scudero songs alone.

Ray is survived by his wife, a son and two stepsons.

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Both With the Help of Angels and Ray's second album, Poor Working Slob (www.cdbaby.com/scudero2), contain many of the songs that have made him so popular and loved within the English-speaking folk community in Israel. They also provide a good deal of insight into the man, his feelings and his love of life. Both Ray and Joanna waited over forty years to meet each other, and have been struck with this sadness after knowing each other for only three years.

Below, you will find more information about this CD, and about Ray himself.

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Ray has 13 years of travel under his boots, all over roads through the USA, Mexico, Central America, the Canary Islands, Greece, Italy, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and a good bit of salt water as a sailor (the real thing, folks, gaff-rigged schooner, sails and all).

He is a humanist, a prolific writer of songs, poetry, and essays who enjoys a respectable following in his homeland, at the Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival, and the Tzora Folk Club.

He began his folk training in Greenwich Village, where he absorbed the vibes of the early folk scene and developed into a maturity that embraces audiences that span four generations.

Serious and fun, his music is self-produced at his own 16-track digital recording studio, where he has produced another CD Baby artist (Rahel Jaskow and her mind-massaging "Day Of Rest").

If you want gimmick and hype, flip and glib, seek elsewhere.

Here is the genuine article.

Ray makes his living as a builder/repairer of fretted instruments and as an engineer/producer, as well as being a popular performing songwriter.

He builds most of the instruments heard on his first release on CD, "With the Help Of Angels," so named to credit the many people who have been, to him, Angels.